In the Sun
by BlueMilagro
Summary: Liza Leroux isn't your typical college student. She's a medium. When her best friend passes away, she's grief stricken, so her god-father introduces her to someone who will change her life: fellow medium and mind-reader Nick Hardaway. Nick Hardaway/OC
1. Expect Anything

IMPORTANT: AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my Rose Red fanfiction, "In the Sun." I started writing this piece mid-August 2009 and finally finished in mid-November; it took so much out of me emotionally and means the world to me. For some reason I become so emotionally attached to my characters, and this story isn't any different.

First off, there IS some language in this story. It's not every other word, but these characters are adults faced with adult situations, so they act accordingly.

For those of you who haven't read any of my other works, I am mostly inspired by music. I tend to, at the end of each chapter, mention some of the songs that inspired the story, specifically the ones that inspired that specific chapter.

I'd like to also state that the events of the movie do not take place for awhile; of the forty-eight chapters in this story, I believe the movie events take place from chapters twenty-six to forty-two. So in case you're wondering ten chapters in…. keep reading! The first twenty-five chapters are Liza (and Nick's!) back-story, and the last six chapters are kindof an epilogue. :)

I think that's about it for the time being; if I remember anything later on, I'll let you know. Please read and review, but be kind and constructive in your criticism. This story means a lot to me!

With that -- enjoy!

DEDICATION:  
"What restraint or limit should there be to grief for one so dear?" --Horace  
This story is lovingly dedicated to Nigel Russell and Sarah Yeager, with the knowledge that true love never dies, and those who go before us never really leave us. May God's love be with you always.

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 1: Expect Anything

"Edith drew in sudden breath. 'I wish I knew what to expect.'  
Fischer answered her without looking back. 'Expect anything,' he said."  
_--from "Hell House" by Richard Matheson_

I'll never forget the first time it happened, at least the first time I remember it happening. It was my first night home from the hospital. I was three and had just survived what the doctors said should have been a life-ending car accident. The wounds healed without any scars, but the doctors busted their rear ends in keeping me alive. I even died for three minutes, and they brought me back. What I didn't know was that I hadn't come back alone.

"Liza....."

A voice tugged at the edges of my mind, pulling me slowly from my sleep to gaze at the corner of my bed. I heard it again, and as my eyes began to focus, I was sure my eyes deceived me.

"Gramma?"

"Hi, sweetie. It's okay. I just wanted to check on you. How's Mommy?"

"She's okay. She's sleeping, too."

"I know, I saw her. Give her a kiss for me, will you?"

"Sure, Gramma." She smiled at me again. "Gramma?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"I saw you in the big box, and I saw the priest put your box in the ground. How did you get out of the cemetery?"

Gramma laughed. "Oh, Liza...... You go back to sleep now, darling."

"Mmm.... goodnight, Gramma."

"Goodnight, little bug."

I started pulling books from the library at age four. Anything and everything I could get my little hands on. When there was a word I didn't understand, I'd ask one of my parents. They just assumed I had found a new hobby-- reading about the paranormal. Sometimes I think it worried them, but I never knew. The one book that became my bible was 'Spirits and the Paranormal: How I Came to Commune With the Dead' by renowned psychic and medium Christopher Joseph. He was also a child psychologist, specializing in children who could also see the dead. He had a show on television that I found one weekend while taken under with the flu; after that, I couldn't stop watching.

When I was seven, a man with a gunshot wound to the side of the head appeared to me in the living room. I could feel it coming. It was just like what that kid told Bruce Willis: all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and it felt like I was falling down real fast. And then there he was. I could actually hear him, too. Most of the time, the spirits didn't have voices. But this one did.

"Please help me," he said, standing in the doorway to the hall. Blood pooled at his collarbone, staining the light brown shirt he wore, and his face was pale. My heart was slamming, struggling against the adrenaline that coursed through its ventricles.

"Wh-who are you? Why are you in my house?"

"My name is Frank Ingram. I need help. My.... my head hurts, and...." He was on the verge of tears, and fighting them back valiantly. "I think something's wrong. And I don't just mean my head. Please....." He started towards me, and I writhed in my seat on the sofa, getting ready to vault the back if necessary.

"Please, I-- I'm not gonna hurt you, kid.... I just wanna know what the hell's going on!"

I sat there in silence, thinking, processing everything, trying to figure out what to do. What did I know? I was a kid. So I asked him what he thought I should do.

"Well God, hell if I know!"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

He thought for a moment, and then his face was clouded with anger. "Greg. That pig..."

"Who's Greg?"

"My co-worker. He's been after my job for months. He..... he had a gun." Frank stopped for a minute. I think he put it together then, for when he looked back in my eyes, it dropped like a ton of bricks.

"No. I... I can't be."

"Dude, don't freak out on me. I can help you but you can't freak out on me. Now, c'mon, what's Greg's last name?"

He was losing it, and fast. I grabbed the pen from the table in front of me and flipped my homework over. _Frank Ingram – dead guy_, I scribbled.

"Harper. Greg Harper."

_Greg Harper – gun._ "And where do you guys work?"

"You know, that big computer software company in town." He told me the name and I scribbled it down, too. "Kid, seriously, I can't be--!"

"Hold it! You can freak out when I leave. Please. I'm only seven years old. One more, mister, one more question. Date of birth."

"Wha-- what is this, a doctor's office?!"

"Date of birth!"

"January thirty-first, nineteen-seventy."

_Jan 31, '70._

"Where?"

"Salt Lake City."

That was jotted down, too, as quickly and legibly as possible. I slammed my book closed over my homework, shoved it in my backpack and jumped to my feet. He was crying now, on the verge of shouting. "I'm really sorry, dude. I'll go see what I can do." And with that, I flew out the door and onto my bike, actually worried about whether or not the neighbors would be able to hear him, but that was the day I realized I was the only one.

When I arrived at the police station, I was in tears. "Hey, kid. You okay? Come on up here and talk to me." The police officer behind the counter waved me over. I approached the desk, grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down a note:

_Frank Ingram. Salt Lake City. January 31, 1970. Red hair, brown eyes. Scar on chin. Really tall. Works for the big computer company. Greg Harper, co-worker, shot him in the head 'cos Greg wanted his job._

Tossing down the pen, I slid the note to the officer, who read it and then looked back at me with an unsettled look on his face. "Honey, is this...." he led up the note. "Did you see a man shoot someone?"

"No," I whispered, shaking.

"Then where....." He came around the counter to sit on the bench with me. "Where did you get this information?"

I shook my head and sobbed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Just-- please, look it up, will you?"

The officer sighed, studying my face. He threw a glance to the other officers at their desks, buried in papers, phone calls and Chinese take-out, then back at me. "What's your name, honey?"

"Liza Leroux."

"And how old are you?"

"Seven and a half."

"I'm Officer Yates. Alright, Liza," he said quietly. "Follow me. And if anyone asks, your bike was stolen, understand?"

"Yeah," I nodded vigorously, wiping tears from my face.

"Ok. Come on."

I followed the officer to his desk, where I took a seat across from him. I had no idea what he was typing, or what he was seeing, but after a few minutes he looked back at me. I could almost see the wheels in his head turning. Reaching under his desk, he pulled out a photo album. "Alright. Now, I want you to do something for me. I want you to look at these photos and tell me if you see either Frank or Greg in any of them. You think you can do that for me?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Let's get started." He opened up the first page. Six photographs took up each page, photos of smiling, happy people. I must have made a noise, because he asked me what was wrong. "Do you see either of them?"

"No," I shook my head. "But I do recognize..... him..... her..... her..... aaannd..... him, too."

"How do you know them?"

I pointed to the blonde woman. "I met her two months ago. She was sitting in my mother's garden in the backyard. She said she liked the smell of the lavender."

"Him?" Officer Yates pointed to the first photograph, of a young man no older than thirty.

"He hangs out at my school. I think he's a teacher or something."

"And when did you first see him?"

"Just last week, actually, but I've seen him a couple times since."

"Okay." Officer Yates nodded, and I looked up at him. His face was as white as a sheet.

"Mr. Yates? Are you okay? You don't look so hot."

He smiled at me. "I'm fine, honey. Let's keep looking for Frank and Greg, shall we?" I nodded and he turned the page.

Frank and Greg weren't on the second page, but I did recognize two of the six faces there. Third page, much of the same. Finally, on the fourth page, we lucked out. "Frank!" I cried, pointing to the middle picture on the top row. "That's Frank Ingram. 'Cept he's cleaner."

"Cleaner......?" Officer Yates clutched his desk.

"Yeah. He doesn't have blood on him in the picture, but he did when I saw him. And his head was all yucky, too."

It was then that Frank walked in through the wall behind Yates. It startled me, but after having witnessed it for months on end, it fazed me less and less. "What did he say?"

----------

MUSIC:

This story was named after the song "In the Sun," which was written by Joseph Arthur. The version I've heard is the one by Peter Gabriel, featured on the album produced after Princess Diana passed away in 1997. The song, to me, in relation to the story, is essentially from Liza's point of view; it's almost as if she's speaking to Nick, saying, "I don't understand these abilities of mine, do you understand yours? Maybe you don't, maybe no-one understands…." You seriously need to go check out the song, it's amazing!


	2. Hello

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 2: Hello

"Liza, I'm gonna go get my partner real quick, okay? Do not go anywhere. Got that?"

I nodded. He rounded the corner- I could still see him through the glass, but fortunately, he was out of earshot- and I turned back to Frank. "I need more information," I said quietly, moving my mouth as little as I could. "I'm scared he might think I'm lying." I grabbed the pen and pad off the desk and pretended to be doodling.

Frank sighed, obviously a little agitated. "What do you need?"

"Details. Your wife's name. Where do you live? Little things that no-one else would know. I don't want him to think I'm lying."

Slowly sitting across from me, he started thinking. "Rachel. My wife's name is Rachel. She's twenty-eight. We live on Davis Boulevard, next to the community pool. Rachel has a tomato patch in the backyard. Um..... I went to the University of Texas for college. Fifth in my class... Y-you got a napkin?"

"Uuh... you're gonna need more than a napkin. Here. Here are some paper towels." I grabbed some from the adjacent desk. The leftover Chinese another officer had left smelled good; I was getting hungry. "Oookay, how many cavities have you got?"

"None," he scoffed, smiling slightly at the memory. "My dentist said I was the perfect patient. Yeah, that is pretty detail-oriented, kid."

All I could do was smile. Glancing over, I checked on Officer Yates. He was still talking to his partner. When I looked back to Frank, I was alone. The chair he'd sat in swung back and forth. It was right then that the officer came back. He looked at the chair and then at me, confused, but finally sat down. "Whoa," he shuddered. "Are you cold? Man, it's really cold in here."

"Yeah, a little."

"So. Liza." He leaned against the desk. "That picture, the one of Frank. That really was him."

"I know! That's what I've been trying to tell you. You gotta believe me. I....." Suddenly I remembered the note. "I have more information."

"Oh?" He glanced it over, then back up at me. "This is what you were doodlin' a minute ago."

"Yeah."

He sighed, leaning back in his seat. "O'Connor!"

"Yeah, partner." The younger officer Yates had been talking to earlier stepped in.

Yates said nothing, handing O'Connor the note. The young officer read it over a few times and looked back up at me. "And this was...." he made a motion to the room around us. "You know....."

"You saw her, I saw her, she never left." Yates turned back to me. "Liza. Honey." He put his face in his hands and gathered his thoughts. "How else would you know this, had you not been there? You had to have been there."

"But I wasn't!" I cried. Tears welled up in my eyes. "I wasn't there, I was at home!" I threw a hand to my mouth.

"You were at home?"

I nodded, crying.

"Wha-- I don't understand, honey. Explain it to me."

"I......" I faltered for a moment, trying to decide. "I can talk to ghosts, Mister Yates."

Well that did it. A week later, Greg Harper was behind bars for murdering his business partner. Rachel Ingram raised her tomatoes next door to the community pool for many years to come, and eventually remarried. I, on the other hand, despite the police's best efforts to keep me under wraps, became the school joke. Everyone wanted to see the freak. I had no idea how it could have slipped-- maybe someone in the police department had a kid at my school-- but either way, I had kids coming up to me, asking to talk to their departed relatives and to tease me. My parents were floored. They too had to believe it. Hell, if the police did, why not? They got in contact with Christopher Joseph, the man who'd written the book I'd been reading long before Frank first came to see me. I was thrilled by the chance of meeting him; I prayed he'd be the one to give me my answers, because 'd changed elementary schools three times in the end, yet to no avail. No matter how much you change the facade, the rooms inside-- as well as the events therein-- remain the same.

Not all my memories of being a medium were terrifying. There's one from my childhood that stays with me to this day. My parents, siblings and I used to go camping on Catalina Island every summer; the sun was warm and the breezes coming up off the ocean were sweet. Avalon was a quaint little town of only about three thousand people, and when you reached the outskirts, you could keep walking and eventually find yourself amidst fields of flowing yellow grass, and, beyond that, the vast, expanse of the Pacific. We used the camping sites set up on the little island, but every day, my sister and brother and I would go running through the fields and spin until we were dizzy and sprawl out with our arms and legs splayed out around us. Amanda liked to find shapes in the clouds, and Eddie liked to make grass angels. He always dreamed of snow, something that was more of an elusive fairytale than a reality in Southern California. They were twins, three years younger, and barely looked anything alike.

Catalina nights would come alive with fireflies and crickets; the sounds of the waves crashing against the cliffs, along with the sound of the breeze stirring the leaves, were constant, even at night, and when we would wake up the next morning, it was always me that was left exhausted. At night, voices would come up with the tides and the winds, voices that sounded strange to me. They would surround our camp; I could hear the men laughing and boasting in a language I didn't understand, and I could hear them setting up camp. After a sleepless night or two, I was getting pissed. I was especially jealous of the rest of my family, who all slept right on through as if nothing were amiss. One night-- I suppose I must have been about nine or so, that particular trip-- I mustered up enough courage and unzipped the tent, fully prepared to give the men outside a piece of my mind. The sound of the tent's zipper was louder than I'd have thought it would be, and as I stepped outside, I realized it was because the voices had stopped. To my shock, I stood in the middle of the camping grounds alone, and that's when I realized my gifts were flaring again.

I ambled back into the tent then, zipping it up again and wrapping myself in the sleeping bag. Whomever it was out there, they didn't return that night, and I was able to really sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I went with my family into town and I asked if I could go into the library, which also housed historical documents pertaining to the island. I asked the woman working there about the history of the island, what kind of people used to live there. There were natives, mostly; I remembered a few words that had been spoken the night before, so I repeated them to her and asked if she knew what they meant. I lucked out-- she knew. They were Russian words; the ones I'd picked out meant hunting, otter and fur. It didn't surprise me when she told me that, over a century earlier, Russian otter and seal hunters had made camp on the island because of its then-abundant otter population. They would barter with the natives over rights to hunt on their land.

I heard them for years afterwards, every time I'd stay the night on the island. They didn't bother me, and I didn't bother them. That's just the way I liked it.

--------

MUSIC:

This chapter is named after the song "Hello" by Evanesence, and the song really reminded me of a lot of the loneliness Liza must have felt as a child, not understanding how she could be the only person able to see someone like Frank standing in her living room. She was scared and alone for many years.


	3. Gwen

Very Quick Author's Note

Interesting little thing I wanted to add in. The character of Christopher Joseph was directly inspired by real-life medium and psychic, Chip Coffey, who has been a huge inspiration of mine over the years. The love, compassion and spirituality he possesses are what make him such a remarkable human being, outside of his amazing gifts. Because, in the words of Rob Thomas, "It's the heart that really matters in the end." I created the name, Christopher Joseph, in fact, directly from Chip's: with both the names Chris and Chip, the first two letters are "Ch." Chip's last name is Coffey; what's a slang term for a cup of coffee? A cup o' Joe-- Joseph. And there you have it. :) Chris Joseph.

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 3: Gwen

"Liza? You sense something, don't you?"

I nodded, staring down the dimly lit hallway at the old San Diego hotel. Chris had invited us out because he was hosting a few other child mediums and, after having been in contact with me for three years, had wanted me to participate, as well. So we made the long drive from our home in Orange County to California's largest southern-most city.

"Tell me about it."

"A.... woman. She's crying."

"Keep going."

"I can hear her..... talking, but......." I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I can't make out what she's saying."

"Can you see her?"

"No. But I can feel her. She's afraid. There's someone else with her here. Someone.... bad." Suddenly I got hit with a cold spot. "Oh, God....." I shuddered.

"What?"

"It's f-freezing," I chattered, and Chris threw his jacket across my shoulders.

"Here," he said. "Warm up. Let's go downstairs and take a few, alright?" He smiled, putting an arm around my shoulder. "You know, for someone as young as you are, you sure do have a knack for this."

"Really?"

Chris nodded.

I smiled to myself, pleased. "When will the other kids get here?"

"Any minute, actually. We're going to meet them in the lobby."

"Any of them my age?"

"One of the other girls is ten, as well, if that's what you mean. But they're all in the same age range. I believe the youngest is eight and the oldest is thirteen."

"I've never met other mediums my age."

"You're very fortunate to be doing so tonight. I didn't meet another psychic like myself I was nearly twenty."

"Seriously?"

"Mm-hmm," Chris nodded. "Nick was the first. He and I have been good friends for years. It was difficult growing up, not fully understanding what was happening and why you were seeing what you did when no one else around you could. I had to figure it out on my own as I went along."

"That sucks."

"Yes," Chris laughed. "Yes, it does."

"Liza, watch your mouth." We'd just reached the lobby where my mother, unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile, chided me in the use of my language.

"Hi, Mom. Sorry."

She let the smile loose. "Any luck?"

"Yeah, somewhat. We're gonna go back up when the other kids get here."

"Chris!"

We turned to find a handful of families coming in through the doors, looking anxious and worried. One of the girls had seen him and came bounding over.

"Aah, Gwen! Hi, honey." Chris leaned over to give the girl a hug. "Liza, this is Gwendolyn Evans--"

"Gwen, please..... I get enough of that Gwendolyn stuff from my parents."

"Hey," her father laughed. "I resent that, kid!"

I smiled, feeling a little more at ease about it all. "Hi, Gwen, I'm Elizabeth Leroux, but you've gotta call me Liza, 'cos I'm in the same boat as you."

Gwen laughed. "And in more ways than one, apparently!" She came closer to me, taking my hands in hers. I was certain she was about my age but she was so petite next to me; spiky black hair, bright blue eyes, little hands that would surely break if you weren't careful. "What have you seen today?" She asked me quietly.

"Um....." I smiled up at Chris and then looked back at Gwen. "I-- I heard a woman on the third floor. Felt a cold draft. The EMF readings were off the charts."

"Ooh!" Gwen squealed in delight. "How exciting! I can't wait for you to show me. When can we start, Chris?"

"As soon as we get oriented."

"Aw, nuts...."

"Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, burgers about a half-hour ago."

I shook my head. "We missed lunch."

"Don't worry," Chris assured me. "We have food in the meeting room. Now, c'mon, let's go meet the others."

Gwen came up and looped her arm through mine as we walked. "How old are you, Liza?"

"Ten. You?"

"Same here," she smiled. "We could almost be twins!"

"But I have _brown_ eyes!" I laughed, flipping my long, dark brown hair over my shoulder. "Well, if we are to be twins, then least they can tell us apart physically, I suppose."

After eating and meeting the other children, we made our way up the hotel, and I was amazed and thrilled while watching the other children catch spirits. It is the most amazing feeling in the world, to realize you are not alone in it. We were frightened a few times; the bad presence I'd felt on the third floor made itself known on more than one occasion and to more than one of us young mediums. We were sitting around the fireplace the second night when one of the children screamed, pointed-- we all turned to the windows in time to watch the imprint of a face press itself into the glass, only the face itself was unseen. I was terrified and thrilled, everything all balled up into one. For the first time in my life I felt as if I really had someone else to talk to. I could talk to my parents, who understood my abilities as best as an outsider could, but it wasn't the same as talking to someone else who actually saw what you just saw yourself.

When the weekend was over I felt so different. It was the first time I was truly comfortable in my own skin. Gwen and I traded phone numbers and other pertinent information. She promised she'd call, and she lived up to her promise. She lived up to her promise until the day she died.


	4. Stay With Me

***WARNING!! Please read before continuing***  
This chapter contains vivid and graphic descriptions of fatal wounds obtained from a car accident. Reader, you have been forewarned. Proceed with caution.

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 4: Stay With Me

"College, baby! Yeah!" Gwen lifted herself up to throw her arms out above her, catching the wind in her still- spiky black hair. The little convertible we'd rented for the drive up to Seattle was perfect; it held all we needed to for our move to the University of Washington. We were twenty, free as birds after staying home for two extra years to get core classes out of the way at community college. We were excited as hell at the prospect of our upcoming debut into big time university life. High school-- or just grade school, in general-- had not been kind to either of us, as we were both considered the outcasts. When we were thirteen, she and her family moved down to Orange County from Portland to be closer to us, for our parents had also become friends, as well.

"Gwen!" I laughed. "Gwen, will you sit down? You're gonna get yourself killed, or worse, you'll get me a ticket!"

"Ha-ha!" She howled. "Oh, c'mon, Liza- live, why don't you? Just because we commune with the dead doesn't mean we have to act like them!"

I rolled my eyes and giggled. "Yeah, well, maybe when I'm not the one in control of the wheel, okay?"

Gwen's cell phone rang. That was enough to get her back in her seat. "Hello? Oh, Chris! Liza, it's Chris! Hey, hot shot, what's shakin'? Yeah, we're on our way up now......."

"Tell him I say hi."

"Liza says hi, by the way. 'Hi, Liza!' Yeah, we'll be there! Seattle's annual paranormal convention is the place to be, man." She grinned. I wondered how I ever kept up with her.

Gwen passed me the phone. "Hi, Chris."

"Hi, Liza, how's the drive?"

"Oh, gorgeous. We're on PCH now, we only left Orange County an hour ago."

"Where are you now?"

"Just north of L.A."

"Ooh, so you still got a long way to go."

"Ugh, yeah," I sighed. "But we'll stop if we get tired."

"Good. Listen, I was just telling Gwen, don't forget about the convention next month, it'll be great."

"Oh, I know, I'm really excited."

"Me, too. It'll be good to catch up with you two again."

After we got off the phone I tossed it back to Gwen. "I can't wait to see our dorm," I grinned.

"Same here," Gwen stretched, giving a yawn. "I'm thinking about how nice it will be to be away from home for a spell, you know?"

"Yep-yep," I nodded.

Freshman year was a blur. After a lifetime's worth of guitar lessons and after having been inundated with my father's music (which I also adored), I joined a rock band when school started, playing lead guitar and sometimes singing. It became my biggest hobby, second only to my psychic abilities. I was studying my ass off; Gwen and I wanted to be parapsychologists. Gwen and I were on top of the world. No one at the university, save for our parapsychology professor, Dr. Joyce Reardon, knew of our abilities, so we were accepted with open arms and open hearts. She was a firm believer of the paranormal and an acquaintance of Chris', so, with his permission, Chris informed Dr. Reardon of who Gwen and I were and of our abilities. The doc was a bit eccentric at times but we knew she was to be trusted.

I'd adapted to my abilities well; it was still a harrowing experience, seeing the dead at your side in an instant, but something about it became easier. I spent time with my band, rehearsing songs again and again until we were exhausted. I got a job at a little bed and breakfast on the outskirts of town, and things were going well.

"Yeah, we were born, born to be wild!"

It took us the first two months of college, but by then, we knew Seattle's streets all too well. The radio was up and the windows were down, our voices were practically raw as we laughed ourselves into a delirium. Gwen and I had just come from the theater across town where we'd seen an amazing movie starring our favorite Hollywood heartthrob and we were giddy from the joy of the film.

"Oh, Liza, can you _believe_ him? God, he was _gorgeous_......"

"Ugh," I groaned. "I know. I hear he married that model from TV last year..... man, I was _so_ bummed."

"Me, too, girl. Hey, put up the windows, will you?"

"You cold? Yeah, me, too." I hit the button and the windows went up as my eyes went back to the road.

"Liza!" Next to me, Gwen gasped and went rigid.

"What?"

"Slow down! Stop, you're going to hit her!"

"What the--" I had been watching the road the entire time but when I looked back after a split second look at my friend's terrified face, there she was, the old woman in white. She had a hammer in her hand. "Jesus Christ! Hold on, Gwen!" I swerved to the right, then to the left. The car careened out of control and finally, hitting the side embankment, began to roll down the hill and into the woods. The sound of metal colliding with metal, trees scraping against glass, were all I could hear aside from our screaming. Fortunately, the car landed right-side-up, but that's when I blacked out.

"Hello? Can somebody hear me? Hello.....!" I came to, coughing and gagging on the smoke that rose from the engine of the car. My face hurt, and I reached up to touch the side of my face, just next to my eye. It stung, and I winced, tears springing to my eyes. The salt made it worse, and when I pulled my hand away, there was blood. I had to get myself out of there and help Gwen. The dashboard of the car was slightly crumpled on my side, and as I pushed against the floorboards of the car, searing pain shot through my right leg. The pain was too much, and I screamed. I couldn't help it then; I started crying.

"Oh, God, somebody please help us!"

"Liza.....?" She stirred next to me, in the passenger's seat.

"Gwen! Oh, Gwen, are you okay?"

"I... I don't know." She started sobbing. "I can't feel my legs, Liza!"

"No! Don't move, Gwen! I'm sure someone will come soon."

"Liza!" Gwen shrieked. "Liza, I'm scared!"

"I'm scared, too. Take my hand, honey, hold on to me."

"My..... my head hurts, Liza. I can't open my eye. Is there something wrong with me?"

Gwen did as I said- she took my hand- and when I looked at her, I nearly jumped out of my skin. When our car rolled and flipped onto its top, a road sign pole must have got taken down with us, for there it was, right through the top of the car and into the right side of my best friend's head. Blood oozed down the right side of her face as her right eye was pushed down and away from where it normally should have been. I had to clench my teeth to keep from vomiting.

"Liza? What is it?! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sweetheart," I forced myself to smile at her. "You're going to be fine, okay? Do you understand what I'm telling you? Look at me and repeat it back to me."

She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Everything is going to be just fine."

"That's right," I nodded, holding on to her hand and to my smile. By God, I was not going to let her die any more fearful than she already was. "Don't be afraid, Gwen. I'm right here."

"I'm gonna die, Liza."

"Shut up, Gwen! No you're not!" I wasn't sure whom I was trying to convince at that point, her or me.

"H-hello?"

"Hey! Hey, here, yes!"

It was another driver, pulled over after apparently witnessing the wreck. He peered into my window to first look at me, and then at Gwen. The color drained from his face when he saw her. "Holy shit.....!" That's when he turned around and threw up.

"What's wrong with him?" Gwen cried. "Why--"

The rear-view mirror. It had gotten knocked out of alignment and was right there where she could see herself. My heart slammed to a halt in my chest. _No._

"OH, MY GOD!!" She started screaming. "My head, my head! Li--" All of a sudden she stopped. Her one good eye rolled into the back of her head, and she started to shake violently as blood gushed and erupted from her mouth.

"GWEN! GWEN!!" I turned to the other driver, who hadn't even looked back at us yet. "HEY! I swear to God, you'd damn well better call an ambulance, NOW! Do you hear me?"

Gwen's hand, which had been holding mine like a vice, loosened then, and that's what caught my attention to turn around. She was still, so still that it scared me. I reached over to put my free hand on her chest to check for movement, a heartbeat. But there was nothing. She was completely and totally still.

"Gwen?" I choked. "Gwen!" The sobs came then, and they shook my body with everything they had until they came up silent. "Oh, God, please......!" I choked. "Our Father, who art in Heaven: hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven........."

"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us, for thyne is the kingdom....."

I clutched my crutches in one arm and my mother in the other. Tears, mixed with the mascara I knew was a mistake to wear, slid from my face and onto my black dress as I tried to stop shaking. The tears had mixed with the medical tape on my face and destroyed the adhesive, and the bandages had fallen away, exposing my raw wounds to the world. I'm sure I looked a fright-- a modern-day, female variant of the Phantom of the Opera-- but I didn't care. In the five days since her death, all I saw when I closed my eyes was her face, her bloodstained face with a pole from above her right eye. They lowered her into the ground and as they did, I tried my best to hobble over to her, but the heavy bandages around my right leg were too much. I collapsed and dragged myself the rest of the way. I was sure it was a classic west-coast earthquake when I felt the ground beneath me begin to shake.

"Gwen, Gwen....." I howled, sobbing. "Please forgive me, Gwen, please... I'm so sorry......." I pulled off the bracelet of plastic beads she'd made for me the weekend we'd met. Blue, brown, blue, brown, G + L = BFF. Our eyes, our initials and our promise. I tossed it into the ground after her, and I screamed then, because I wanted nothing more than to join her.

"Liza, Liza!" Chris, trembling, collapsed next to me. Tears were streaming down his face. "You've got to stop, honey. You've got to make the ground stop shaking." He pulled me into his arms as I lay wailing at the top of my lungs for someone I knew I could never have back.


	5. Soul Food

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 5: Soul Food

There was a knock at my door. "Liza?"

I didn't want company at the moment. I was too busy studying.

"Liza, c'mon. We know you're in there."

Sighing, I got up and pulled out my cane, cautiously making my way to the door. In the two months since the accident my leg was healing nicely; the splint was off but I still needed some assistance. The gash on the side of my face would take a little time, as well. The doctor told me not to be surprised if a life-long scar appeared there, too. I opened the door to find Brian and Phil waiting for me. "Dude," Phil started. "Band practice. What the hell?"

"Phil," Brian scolded quietly.

"Oh, my God....." I was so busy moping I'd completely forgotten. "Jesus, you guys, I- I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Liza. Phil and I know what you're going through, man, and we just wanted to make sure, you know......"

I looked from one to the other. "What, that I-- Oh, for God's sake, guys! Come on!" I hobbled back to my desk, and the two of them came in to shut the door behind them. "Do you see a gun or some rope, or even a place to hang said rope? Boys, I may be down in the dumps, but for crying out loud--"

"Dude, we totally did not say that. We wanted to make sure everything was okay. We care about you, Liza, you're our friend."

"Huh," I scoffed. "I'm your _front-runner_."

Philip made a face and shook his head. "Goddamnit, Liza!" And with that he stalked out of the room.

"Liza! For God's sake-- Phil.....!" Brian called after him, but he wouldn't even listen to Brian, who turned to me with a frown. "Look, I love you, but frankly, you're being a bitch right now. There's only so much we can do."

I sank down into my chair, feeling disgusting. These guys were my friends, dear friends, at that, and here I was..... well, as Brian put it, being a bitch. "Oh, God, Brian...... I'm so sorry. I really am. You know I didn't mean it. I love you guys and I love being in the band, I just....." I rubbed my face in my hands. "Please, tell Phil for me?" I looked up at Brian, and he nodded. "I just don't know what's wrong with me....."

Brian came to sit down on the floor in front of me. He put his hands on his knees, careful to avoid upsetting my wounded leg. "You watched your best friend die in a violent car accident, Liza. It's okay to be angry."

"Yes, but God, it was four months ago, Brian! I mean, my twenty-first birthday is two days away and I feel like shit! I'm in no mood for drinks." Brian and I laughed, and I shrugged. "I dunno, I'd expect myself to be a bit further on than this, I..... I just want my life back, you know?" One thing I wasn't telling him was that Gwen hadn't even visited me since her death. I wasn't sure what worried me more: that simple fact, or the fact that I was too terrified of how I would react when she did finally come.

He took my hand in his. "And your life wants you back, too."

I looked at him and laughed. Laughed the first real laugh for as long as I could remember. It was amazing, like some switch had been flipped. He smiled at me.

"How's your leg?"

"Better. I'm so glad I didn't break it, at least I have that going for me."

"True..... but you did shred the hell out of it."

I winced, nodding. "I know."

"Have you been keeping it elevated?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Good." Brian smiled, getting serious. "Now. Do you want to get your Les Paul and come down to the music hall for some practice?"

"Brian, I'm studying."

"Dr. Reardon said you've been up here for four hours. Saw you when she was here dropping off some stuff for another student. I think it's about time for a break, don't you?"

I sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"I'll carry your guitar."

"Alright, alright," I laughed, hoisting myself up and onto my feet with Brian's guidance.

"That's a girl. Now, c'mon. Let's go melt some faces!"

"Ok, so, what's first?" I sighed, plugging my Les Paul into my amp.

Phil smiled a half-smile at me, one that said, 'I forgive you but I'm still miffed.' He picked up his sticks and headed for his drum set. "_You_ choose something, Liza."

"Me?"

He nodded.

"Oh. Alright... um... You know, I'm still having some difficulty with the end of Collective Soul's 'Heavy,' why don't we take that from the top?"

"You got it. Whenever you're ready." David, our lead singer, stood off to the side with Cole, our rhythm guitarist, and they got into position. Brian took up his base.

"Um-- Liza....."

I turned back to look at Phil, who gave me a real smile this time. "I'm glad you're our front-runner."

David gave Brian a confused look, and Brian, chuckling, muttered something back to him that involved the word 'later.'

I smiled slowly. "Thanks, Phil. I appreciate that."

I'd forgotten how therapeutic music can be. Regardless of which end you're on-- the one listening or the one playing-- it can lift you up in ways you'd never dream possible. When I played my guitar I could close my eyes and everyone, the dead and the living, would disappear around me and I could be alone, just me and Les Paul. It was like that when I sang, too. I felt like I could be someone else for awhile. I was a rock star for three and a half minutes at a time.

I tilted my head back over one armrest as my feet dangled over the other. "What was it, Chris, that made the ground shake the day Gwen was buried? You said it was me."

"Yes, honey, it was you."

"I don't understand. I can't do that sort of thing, you know that. What....." I shook my head, trying to clear the confusion that hung there like cobwebs.

"There are a few psychics out there, Liza, who are able, through their predetermined gifts, to move objects with their mind. It could be something as small as a ring to as large as an entire city block, thus making it feel like an earthquake."

I digested his words in silence for a few moments as I switched the phone to my other ear. "Well-- why are you just now telling me about this? I mean, firstly, wouldn't I have known about some power like that, and secondly, if it's manifested itself before this-- why haven't I known?"

"Sometimes things like this develop at a later point in life. Sometimes it takes an extremely traumatic event-- like the death of someone close-- for these powers to fully make themselves known. In others, it's just been there from the onset. I have a friend like that. His name is Nick, Nick Hardaway."

"I remember you mentioning him. At the hotel, a long time ago."

"You have one hell of a memory, lady," Chris laughed, and I did, too.

"How old is he?"

"Oh, about my age."

"So, mid-forties, thereabouts?" I smiled.

"Ssh, don't give us away, hon!" Chris was grinning, I could _hear_ it.

"Oh, come off it. You're not _that_ old, Jesus," I laughed, making Chris howl.

"You know, the Parapsychology convention is coming up. He's going to be there, too. I want you to meet him; I think he may be able to help you."

--------

MUSIC:

I named Liza's band, Modern Moonlight, after a song by the Dresden Dolls. "Presenting modern moonlight just as advertised; Coke and Pepsi finally reached a compromise…."


	6. Nick

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 6: Nick

May brought my first summer as a college student; Chris flew in from New York City, which is where he was living at the time, to stay at the same hotel in which the convention would take place. He called me the day before as he was waiting at baggage claim. "Liza, it's me, Chris."

"Hey, Chris, how are you? Are you in town yet?"

"Yeah, I'm at baggage claim now, I'm waiting on Nick. He's staying at the same hotel I am and we happened to be on the same flight connecting from Chicago, how ironic is that?"

"Wow, that's awesome. Where did you say he was from, anyhow?"

"London, actually."

"Oh, he's English!"

"Yeah, but he's been living in the states the past few years. Indianapolis, mostly, although he told me on the flight he's actually moving to Seattle this year."

"That's great, then you'll have _two_ friends to visit while you're here from now on." I smiled.

"That's right! It-- oh, hang on. Hey! Nick! Over here."

"Hello, old friend." An English accent met my ears. "Have you found the bags?"

"Naw, they're still on the belt." He turned his attention back to me. "Alright, Liza, well..... do you wanna come get diner with us tonight? You could be our welcoming party into the city."

"That sounds lovely, Chris," I laughed. "It would be great to meet your friend, too."

"Oh, I am sure you and Nick would get along very well."

"Who is that, Chris, you devil? A pretty lady, eh?"

I laughed harder, my jaw hitting the floor. "Aah-- Chris, you give Mr. Hardaway the phone right this instant."

"Yes, ma'am!" Chris laughed. There was a pause, then: "Well, hello, there, is this...... what, Liza, did he say?"

I couldn't stop giggling. "Uh, that's Miss Leroux to you, sir, if you do mind. And you'd best be nice to me if you'd like me to take you to see the Space Needle."

Nick guffawed. "I'll remember that. Can't wait to meet you, dear Liza; let me pass you back to Chris."

"Goodbye, Nick; I look forward to meeting you, as well." I smiled.

"Keep in touch, Liza, 'kay?" Chris was back on the other end, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Sure will, Chris. Call me when you're in town, I'll meet you somewhere for food."

It was another hour before my phone rang again; we decided upon a really nice little home-grown seafood place in town where Gwen and I used to eat almost every weekend, it seemed. I hadn't been there in awhile, and it felt strange going back. Leaning on my cane, I hobbled over to the bar, where I sat to wait for them. I ended up losing myself in a baseball game on the television.

"Well if it isn't the infamous Liza." A warm voice with an English accent met my ears, pulling me all the way from Fenway Park back to Seattle. I turned around to find the source of the voice take a barstool next to me.

"You must be Nick," I smiled, laughing as I took his outstretched hand. "Liza Leroux."

I was taken aback for a moment; he was taller than me, much taller, but then again, most everyone is. Nick looked to be close to six feet, and I only banked in at a whopping five-foot-five. He was skinny for his height, but not unhealthily so; he had dark blonde hair, blue-gray eyes and a kind smile. He was handsome. I immediately shoved the remnants of the last thought from my mind. _He's too old for you, Liza;_ I thought to myself. _He's got twenty years on you!_

He chuckled, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Nick took my hand and kissed it. I could feel all the blood rush to my face, and I grinned.

"What?" I laughed.

"Nothing," he shook his head.

"Well.... Nick, it's a pleasure to put a face to a voice." I finally found mine.

"My sentiments exactly," he nodded.

"So where is our mutual friend?"

"Ah, the john," Nick told me. "He told us to go ahead and order drinks." It was then the bartender came up and asked for our drink order. "Well, my dear..... pick your poison!"

"Uuh, yes..... how's about a Jameson and Ginger Ale?"

"Sure thing, lady." He turned to Nick. "You?"

"Rum and coke, please."

Chris joined us shortly and as the night wore on, I felt myself relax. I hadn't felt this relaxed or at ease since before Gwen died. I lightly ran my hand over the nearly-healed wound-scar hybrid on my cheek, remembering her face, and for once, I felt no shame in putting it from my mind. I knew for a fact Gwen would not have wanted me to have lived like this. It still hurt like hell, the guilt and grief burning at my heart like whiskey to an open wound..... yet it was a healing pain.

"You alright, Liza?" Next to me, Nick smiled kindly, warmth radiating from those blue-gray eyes.

"Hmm?" I glanced up from my second drink. "Oh, yes, I-- I'm fine, thanks."

"You see something?" Chris asked quietly.

"No, no, honestly, I.... I was just lost in a memory, is all."

Nick smiled reassuringly, squeezing my hand. "Gwen would have wanted you to be happy."

"Oh, I know, and I am, it's just--" It sunk in then, the fact that, throughout the course of the evening, I'd not made one mention of my late best friend. I stopped to gape at him for a moment before turning to Chris, who just laughed.

"Liza, honey, he's just as much a psychic as the two of us."

"So you didn't say anything?"

Chris shook his head. I turned back to Nick, smiling. "Yes, Nick, I think you very well may be right." I lifted my glass. "To Gwen!"

My friends echoed the toast, and we all drank.

"So Nick, you're, what..... post-cognitive?"

"I'm.... a little bit of everything, you could say." He studied his glass, thinking. "Pre-cog, post-cog, psychic; with enough effort I can move things with my mind. This has been going on most of my life. I used to scare my classmates back in London when I was a child."

Something struck me then, and I shook my head. "You.... you left something out, didn't you?" Nick and Chris glanced at each other, and when he didn't respond, I immediately felt bad. "Oh.... Nick, I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"No," Nick smiled at me. "It's alright. It's.... something I have difficulty discussing. I've lost many friends this way, and......"

"You can trust me," I murmured.

"I... can read minds."

My eyes went wide. "Wow." Then when I thought about it, it became tragic, really, and I made a face. Surprise parties were out of the question, although I suppose first dates might have been easier to screen. "I'm sorry. It must be very difficult for you."

Nick blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Yes. It can be sometimes, thank you..... But I find that I can tune it out fairly easily now, as well. It's much like blocking out a conversation at the table next to you."

"That's good."

He smiled at me then, and sat back in his seat. "So... who else knows of your talents here in Seattle?"

"Well.... when Gwen and I were accepted to the University of Washington, we knew right away we wouldn't say a thing to anyone about our abilities. We wanted to start clean-slate. My parapsychology professor is the only one who knows about my abilities...." I laughed then. "I made her swear that she wouldn't tell anyone on campus."

"Has she held up to her end?"

"Yes. Yes, she has." I smiled.

"So how has university life been, then, now that you're a nonentity?"

I giggled. "Aside from the accident this past spring, it's been fine, really. I just started my junior year, so I'm just over halfway done. I'm studying parapsychology."

"And when you're not a student or a medium, what is it you do with your free time?"

"Well.... I work at this little bed-and-breakfast on the outskirts of town, and it's been fine, I suppose. The house is beautiful. I'm in a rock band....."

"Oh?" Nick's eyebrows raised, and he grinned. "A rock band, eh?"

"Yeah...." I laughed, wrinkling my nose. "We're called Modern Moonlight. It's really a lot of fun. We.... we play a bunch of stuff, mostly covers at this point, but.... I love it."

"So it sounds. What is it you do? In the band, I mean."

"I'm the lead guitarist. I sing sometimes, too, but mostly, I'm the guitarist."

"Well I suppose I'll have to come hear you play sometime, now that I'm moving to Seattle."

"She's really quite good," Chris nodded, finishing off his drink.

"Aw, thanks, Chris."

"You are," he smiled.

Dinner and drinks were amazing, but it was getting late, and, as much fun as I was having, I knew we had to be up the next morning for the convention. We called it quits soon thereafter, and I bid my friends goodnight. I hit the bed as soon as I got in, and slept what started out to be a perfectly dreamless sleep.


	7. Sweet Dreams

IN THE SUN

Chapter 7: Sweet Dreams

It wasn't until about four that my mind started working, wandering...... I was lost, a greenhouse full of beautiful blooming roses. The place, as serene and gorgeous as it was, had an eerie, not-quite-right quality about it. I didn't like it. Nick was there. I couldn't find him at first; I'd only catch glimpses of him through the leaves and vines, but then there he was, coming around a wall of roses with a smile on his face.

"There you are," I smiled, flooded with relief as he came to stand mere inches from me.

That smile didn't quit as he looked down at the rose he'd just picked. He handed it to me. "Do you know what roses are supposed to signify?"

"No," I shook my head.

It was then that he leaned in, kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "Roses mean remember."

My eyes flew open then, with the smell of roses on my mind and the feel of Nick's kiss on my cheek. I was still a bit foggy from the dream, but I shook it off, swinging my feet over the side of my bed. It was eight, so I showered and pulled together something to wear. Most of my clothes looked like they'd come from the closet of a rock star, and all of it was comfy. When I was ready, I grabbed my keys and headed out to the hotel for the show.

It was lovely, there was so much to do and see. I met up with Chris and Nick at nine-thirty and before long, we ran into Dr. Reardon, who was there with Steven Rimbauer. His great-grandparents built Rose Red, Seattle's Titanic in the realm of haunted houses. I'd heard stories of the horror the house had caused, and, although morbidly curious, was too terrified to even think of going inside at that point. People had a habit of disappearing or dying while inside the walls. Steven didn't like the house but Dr. Reardon, as all of her students well knew, was obsessed.

Chris and Dr. Reardon went to sit in on the Rose Red lecture; Nick and Steve went to do their own thing, and I wandered around for awhile. Before heading in, Chris came to me and took my arm.

"Liza, listen, I don't want you to do too much to aggravate your leg, alright? If you need to sit down, then sit down."

I smiled, giving him a hug. "Don't you worry about me, Chris."

He cracked a small smile and began to protest. "Yeah, but seriously--"

"I will, I will, I promise! I'll go find myself a drink and take it easy for awhile, okay?" I kissed his cheek. "You've always looked out for me, Chris, and I thank you for it."

"Well you know it's only 'cos I love you, you know that?"

"I know." I smiled. "And I love you, too, man."

It wasn't long before I found a vending machine, and I bought myself a Coke to take with me. After taking care of my leg and sitting out for about twenty minutes, I found a table with books sprawled out everywhere, all dealing with the paranormal, and I lost myself in one entitled, "Haunted New England."

I was a few pages in when I felt a gentle hand on my right shoulder, and Nick was peering over my other with a smile on his face. "Salem, Massachusetts...... A very interesting town, if you ask me." I was practically knocked off my feet from surprise and I had to balance myself on the table for a moment. The cheek he kissed in my dream tingled as he hovered inches away. I immediately shoved the thoughts from my mind, not sure if he was screening the conversations just then.

"You've been there?" I asked, looking at him.

"A few years ago, yes," he nodded, regaining his full height. He left his hand on my shoulder. "It honestly was quite chilling." He shuddered and made a face, making me laugh.

"Hey, kids," Dr. Reardon smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. "That was some lecture!"

I shuddered. "Too much for me, I'm afraid."

Dr. Reardon laughed, pushing a blonde ringlet out of her eyes. "Well, it is a very big house, yes. Listen, I'll be around, so don't leave without saying goodbye!"

"We won't," I promised, grinning, and with that, she was off. Nick turned back to me.

"So if you're not too busy tonight, I'd like to do dinner again. I'd love to hear more of your life on the sunny beaches of Southern California."


	8. Little Brother

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 8: Little Brother

"Well, what else is there you want to know?" I laughed, helping myself to more chips and salsa.

"How about.... how many times did you go to Disneyland?"

"Oh, too many to count," I giggled. "It was my old stomping ground."

"How far was the drive from your house? Was it long?"

"No, only thirty minutes."

"Oh, dear, so you really were there all the time!"

I nodded, keeping my grin.

"Did you go to the beach often? What was it like?"

"The beaches were gorgeous. The water was cold but it was so refreshing. Like an electric current running through your veins."

"Oh, you must have been one hell of a surfer, to be sure!"

"Brace yourself: are you ready for this?"

Nick nodded vigorously, waiting for me to tell him I was California's premiere surfing champ, I'm sure.

"You are in the presence.... of the one Californian who never surfed."

Nick gasped, only slightly feigning shock. "You never surfed?!"

"Nope," I shook my head, sipping on my Coke. "I body-boarded, but never actually...... you know.... Miserlou and all that."

Nick laughed, leaning back in his seat across from me. We had a little booth at a Mexican restaurant on campus; we got the booth so I could elevate my gimp leg on his seat next to him. We had been there for at least an hour, and honestly, it was the most fun I'd had all day. I hadn't laughed his hard or this continuously since Gwen died.

"Oy, how's the leg?" He gently placed a hand on the flip-flopped foot on the seat next to him.

"Oh, it feels fine, thanks. Best it's felt in awhile, actually."

"Doesn't hurt or anything?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Not in the slightest."

"Aah, good."

"So...." I smiled. "Chris says you're-- um, what do you call it-- you can move things?"

Nick nodded slowly, apprehensively. "A little."

"A little?" My smile widened. "From what Chris told me, he made it sound like you were a master."

He didn't say anything for a moment, gazing down into his water. Picking up his spoon, he began slowly stirring the ice; the water picked up momentum, and in a moment, he released his hand. The spoon kept going, as if controlled by an invisible hand, and it didn't slow down. My jaw hit the table. "When I was thirteen years old, my little brother wanted to use the few pounds he'd saved to go down to the book seller's and get a new comic. He was seven at the time, and small for his age, which is why our mother wanted me to go with him while our older sister stayed home to help Mother cook. So David and I hopped on our bikes and rode up the hill to the store. It took him awhile to make his final decision-- he really loved those books--" Nick smiled at the memory. "And when he was done he had three new comics under his arm.

"We got back on our bikes and started to make our way back down the hill to our house. In order to get there, though, you had to cross through the town's major intersection: four lanes, bright lights, everything. It was a very busy place, and it was conveniently located at the bottom of the hill." For an instant, I could see where Nick's story was going, and I prayed to God he would prove me wrong. "It was a Sunday afternoon; the church-goers were home and the streets weren't as busy as they usually were, but it was still a heavily populated place. David was always cautious about those roads, but on that day, his brakes gave out. He was riding ahead of me a ways, and even though I couldn't see his face, I could see the panic rise up in his shoulders as he frantically tried to get the little bike to stop. 'Nick!' he called out to me. 'Nick, the bloody brakes, they won't work!' He kept going faster and faster, and I-- I froze up. I knew what I was capable of. It wasn't just the spirits, the little bits and pieces of intuitive foresight I was hit with-- just the week earlier, I moved my bed across the room with little effort. With enough willpower, I knew I was capable of stopping those cars. But I just..... I just froze. I couldn't even...." Nick sniffed, then laughed bitterly, leaning back into the booth. "I couldn't even get my legs to work in time to pedal down after him."

"Oh, God, Nick....." Tears welled over.

"He'd only bought three comic books that day, but it seemed like so much more, seeing them strewn across the intersection like that. The police said he'd flown thirty feet. For two months, all I could see when I closed my eyes was David, crooked, lying in the middle of the street......" He shuddered then, and he covered his face with his hands as he leaned against the table, trying to keep his composure.

"Nick..." I reached across the table to put my hand on his arm, and as he took his hands away, I was surprised to see he wasn't crying-- although he certainly looked upset. I took his hands in mine. "I'm so sorry you and your family had to go through that. And....." I took in a breath. "I can understand why you'd then close yourself off to that part of your life."

"That's just the thing," he murmured. "When it happened, when..... David...."

"Yes...."

"The _whole city_ practically came down around us. I like to think it was my anger lashing itself out and destroying everything. Ever since, it's like.... I've had to keep it in check. Not everything sets it off, but sometimes, if I'm not careful......" He sighed, studying my face. I smiled at him then, I guess in part to try and cheer him up, and he reached up to touch my cheek, the same one that had now a fresh scar. "You have a good heart, Liza. You've been through some frightening things, too, and look at you now. You're a very bright and remarkable medium," he added with a smile, dropping his hand to join the three that were already on the table. "And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad to know you."

I didn't know what to say then; I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks, and I think Nick noticed as I glanced down at our hands, for I could hear him chuckling softly. I was flattered, so I said just that. "Thank you, Nick. It.... it really means a lot."

"Thank _you,_" he smiled without breaking eye contact, and he lifted my hand to kiss my palm. Instantly, I could feel my spine tingling. "I... I've never told anyone that before-- well, Chris knows, and.... anyway, what I mean, is.... just, thank you. Thank you for listening."

"I'm always here," I smiled. It was then I decided to tell him about what happened at Gwen's funeral, about how the ground shook. "That's why I asked you about it in the first place. Chris told me you could move things, and he knew I could a little, too, and I thought..... well..... since you're moving to Seattle, I thought maybe you could help me with it all." All of a sudden I was hasty in trying to retract what I'd said. "I mean, that is, if you don't feel comfortable, then....."

"No, no," Nick waved it aside with a smile. "Liza, don't let it trouble you. I do want to help you, and I will. We'll start as soon as I get settled after moving."

"Oh, that would be marvelous. Thank you, Nick," I beamed.

"My pleasure."

We didn't say a word for a moment or two, and it was then that I inadvertently decided to yawn. "Oh, dear...." I laughed forlornly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me......"

Nick chuckled. "It's been a long day. I can imagine you're worn out. I would be, too, nursing an injured leg and struggling with a cane. C'mon, I'll help you out."

I swung my leg over to the floor, and Nick came to stand in front of me, offering me his hands. "Alright-- one, two, three, there you go." I was up on my feet somewhat steadily; I'd trained my left leg to take the brunt of the weight, so it felt weird putting any on my right, even if it didn't hurt. Nick handed me my cane, and I leaned on it anyway.

Offering me his arm, Nick grinned. "Shall we?"

"Thank you, sir," I said properly, and I laughed, looping my arm through his as we left the restaurant right as rain.


	9. Everybody's Free

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 9: Everybody's Free

I was sad to see Nick leave two days later; there was a friendship developing, I couldn't deny it. Fortunately, in two months time, Nick would be back- and for good. He had found a house out in the south side of the city and would stay in a hotel until his moving van got in. The two months flew by, and I was so excited to get the call from him when he was in. I immediately got in my car and met him at his hotel so we could have dinner at the restaurant on the first floor.

"Nick!" I called out when I spotted him across the lobby, and he turned around to search. His whole face lit up when he saw me.

"Liza, darling! Oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

I threw my arms around him in a hug, laughing. "I'm glad to see you, too."

"Ha-ha. Well, are you hungry?" He put an arm around my shoulder as we made our way to the restaurant.

"I sure am. Let's eat!"

After a long dinner and wonderful bout of catching-up, I walked him up to his room. I was exhausted and had a full day ahead of me-- studying until four, show with the band at nine-- but when he invited me in for a moment, I accepted his offer.

"There's something I keep forgetting to ask you....." Nick sat across from me, on the other bed; our knees were touching. "Have you seen Gwen since she died?"

"No," I dropped my gaze to my lap, shaking my head. We'd been talking about the accident a bit, and it felt good to release some of the tension. "I feel like.... I feel like she's mad at me. I was the one driving, the one who lost control of the car...."

Nick lifted my chin, looking into my eyes. "Liza.... The roles could have been reversed just as easily."

"Yes, I know, it's just....." I sniffled, and I couldn't stop the two or three tears that eked their way out. Nick grabbed a Kleenex from the bedside next to him, and when he sat down again, he sat right beside me and put an arm around me. "I just wish I could have done more for her, you know? I feel like--"

"Liza."

I looked up. "What?"

"I didn't say anything," Nick looked concerned.

"Someo-- yes, it had to have been you, I--"

"Liza!"

"Okay, now, that I _did_ hear." Nick stood up, listening.

And that's when I felt the bed move behind me. I grabbed Nick's arm, drawing in a sharp breath, and I slowly swiveled around on the bed.

My best friend sat cross-legged across from me, her blue eyes shining. She had that classic grin on her now-flawless face, and my throat closed in on me.

"Gwen?" I sobbed. "Baby? Oh, where have you been, huh? Where the hell have you been?"

Speechless, Nick sat back down and returned his arm-- this time, to my waist.

"Oh.... around. You know. Visiting old haunts and things." She giggled at her little pun.  "Gwen..... I miss you so much. Why didn't you come to see me? I-- I thought, surely you would have crossed over by now....."

Gwen frowned slightly. "Not so easy, sweetie. See, there was one more thing I had to do before I went."

"What?"

She looked at me silently for a few moments, then looked at Nick.... and grinned that mischievous pixie grin at me. "Your boyfriend's right, you know."

I laughed, and next to me, Nick's face went red as he shifted in his seat.

"Wha-- Gwen, we're not--"

"I know," she cut me off, grinning still. "But you should be." She turned back to Nick. "I may not have come to Liza these past months, but I've certainly looked in on her. When she met you, I knew you were someone special. You have a good heart, Nick. I want you to take care of her now."

"Thank you, Gwen. I can promise you I will."

Gwen smiled at him, then turned back to me.

"So..... what was he right about?"

"My one last thing...... I _don't_ blame you, Liza."

"You.... what?"

"You need to stop blaming yourself for my death because it wasn't your fault. It wasn't _anybody's_ fault. I am not mad at you, I don't blame you, you've..... Liza, you were the sister I never had. I've got three brothers, remember?"

I nodded, wiping the tears from my face. "You called them your bodyguards."

Gwen smiled then. "Stretch out those arms like a convertible ride and _live_, Liza! We're not cats, you know. We don't live forever."

Laughing, I sniffled, and Nick squeezed my hand.

My best friend was engulfed in white light then, and she looked back up and over her shoulder. "Well... looks like I can go home now."

I let out a sob, reaching for her, but my hands met a cold spot. "Gwen....."

"Tell my parents and my brothers I love them, will you?"

"I will, I promise."

"I love you, Liza."

"Love you, too."

I wasn't too sure how it happened, but she was gone as quickly as she'd arrived. "Gwen!" I broke free from Nick's grasp to collapse into the indentation she left, sobbing.

Curling up in bed next to me, Nick pulled me into his arms and held me, letting me cry as long and hard as I needed to. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep.

It was four when I started to come to, and when I realized I wasn't sure where I was, I bolted up in bed. Everything sank in in less than a second as I gazed down at Nick, who'd fallen asleep with me still in his arms. He was awake now, startled by my sudden outburst.

"Mmm..... Liza? You alright?" I could feel his warm hand on my back.

"Yes, I.... I'm fine," I yawned.

"What time is it?"

"Um.... four-fifteen." I paused. "It was really her, wasn't it?"

Nick smiled up at me through sleep. "Yes; yes, it was."

I started taking off my shoes. I was amazed I'd made it through nearly five hours of sleep in those shoes, much less the jeans. I hated sleeping in jeans. "I'm so glad she came."

"Here....." Nick yawned, swinging his feet over the side of the bed and going over to fish out a t-shirt and some pajama pants. "I'm sorry I don't have much else to offer; these pants are a little small on me, so...."

"Oh, that's okay," I yawned in return-- a contagion, it is-- and took the clothes. "Thanks, Nick, I appreciate it."

"Of course." He smiled, heading for the bathroom. "I hope you don't mind me changing, as well."

"Please, don't mention it." Quickly changing out of my clothes, I balled them up and left them in one of the chairs by the window. I crawled back into bed, pulling down the sheets and burying myself in.

He came back out a moment later in a white t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, and made his way for the second bed.

"Um.... Nick?" I sat up.

"Yes?"

"Well-- uh.... I was wondering, well......"

Nick chuckled. "Liza....." he came over to pull down the sheets next to me. "It's alright. To answer your question: Yes. Of course." He grinned, getting comfortable in the sheets, and all I could do was stare back down at him, my jaw on the floor. I smiled.

"Well? Come on, now.... back to bed with thee!" Nick laughed, opening up his arms for me. I couldn't help but laugh in return, and as I sank into his arms again, I knew it wouldn't be long before I drifted back to sleep. Turns out, I was right.

In the months that followed, I could feel my heart lift. Nick settled into his new house, and pretty soon, he was teaching me how to use the powers I'd only recently come to own. At first it was a spoon; then, one of my textbooks. Within a year, I could make the whole dorm room quake. I felt like that little girl from the Roald Dahl novel, and it was amazing.

--------

MUSIC:

Chapter named after the boy's choir piece from 'Romeo + Juliet,' "Everybody's Free." The feel of the song, along with the title, really inspired me. :)


	10. Graduation

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 10: Graduation

"Oh, honey, look at you!" My mother laughed, adjusting the cap on my head.

"I look like a dunce, mother."

"Liza, I'm beginning to feel that was the intention when graduation caps were invented. One last piece of cruel and unusual punishment before being shoved off into the great big unknown."

I laughed. "Yes, I suppose you're right...."

"Liza!"

Turning around at the sound of my name, I saw Chris approaching. "Hey!" I cried out, hugging my God-father. "You made it!"

"You bet your ass, honey." He kissed my cheek. "Wouldn't miss you graduating for anything!"

"Where's Nick? Didn't you say you two were coming together?"

"Yes, yes, he-- calm down," Chris laughed. "He drove, so he's parking the car."

"Ah," I laughed, and I could feel my face turn pink.

"Chris!" My mother grinned, giving him a hug. "So good to see you." They talked for a few moments before Chris departed. "I'll go find us a seat, Liza, and Nick and I will see you after, okay?"

"Okay. See you later!"

"Hey..." my mother nudged me. "So.... Gwen's not here, is she?"

"No, Mom," I shook my head. "I told you, Nick and I watched her cross over two years ago. Once that happens, the spirit never walks this earth any longer."

"Yes, I know," she nodded, shrugging. "I just hoped, you know...." She nodded towards Gwen's parents and brothers across the room. They were engrossed in a conversation with Chris and Dr. Reardon.

"Oh, I know, Mom. Me, too. But Gwen isn't the only one at peace, you know. I mean, they'll always feel an ache in their hearts for her-- we all will-- but they're at peace with it now. You should have heard them when I called to tell them about Gwen's crossing over. They were so ecstatic..... in a very bittersweet sort of way."

My mom nodded, and when I looked at her I did so in time to catch a tear falling. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you, sweetheart. To see her leave and have to let her go."

"Mom...." I hugged her. "It _was_ hard. So far in my life I'd have to say that it's the hardest thing to date I've had to endure. But I'm happier now that she's crossed. She's happier, too, I'm sure."

David and Phil found us then. "Hey, Liza." Phil smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Leroux, it's nice to see you again."

"Hello, Phil," my mother grinned. "Congrats!"

"Thanks! Hey, Liza, have you found an apartment yet?"

"Naw," I shook my head, frowning. "Not yet. You?"

"Yeah, we found one," David grinned. "It's _perfect_. The two of us are gonna room together."

"Awesome! What about Cole and Brian? Did they find something?"

"Well, Cole's sister's got something on the north side of town, so they're splitting it. Brian found one but he still needs a roommate 'cos he can't go it alone financially."

"Oh, hell, who can?"

"Yeah, I know, right?" Phil grinned. "Anyway he was wanting to know if you had anything, and if not, maybe you two wanted to room."

"That would be awesome! Where is he? I'll go tell him."

"Yeah, he's around, he'll be really relieved."

I found Brian after the ceremony, and we got everything squared away. The only problem was that we couldn't move in until July fifteenth, a whole six and a half weeks away. Brian said he had a place to stay in the meantime, and I told him I could manage.

I was so tired from all the day's goings-on, but it was Friday night, and I was super stoked about dinner that night. There were twelve of us: me, Nick, Chris, my brother and sister, my parents, Gwen's three brothers and her parents. It was a giant family reunion. I sat between Nick and Eddie, my brother; he and Amanda had just turned twenty-one the month before and still hadn't come down off the "oh my God, I'm legally able to drink" high. Amanda sat on the other side of Eddie, next to one of Gwen's brothers, the one she'd had a crush on since middle school.

Eddie and Amanda were engrossed in a conversation; I was lost in digging through my food when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I looked up to see Chris crouching between me and Nick. "Hey, you party animals," he grinned.

"Hi, Chris."

"Liza," he kissed my forehead. "I'm real proud of you, sweetie. You've really worked your ass off, and you deserve all the success in the world, you know that?"

My face went red, and I turned to hug him. "Aw, Chris, thanks."

"So listen, you remember that documentary those people wanted me to do?"

"The one in New Orleans," Nick nodded.

"Yeah, that one. Well they called me today and wanted to know if there was anyone else I could think of, other psychics, that may be interested in helping out. I told them I might know a couple."

Nick and I looked at each other. "You mean......" I started. "Chris, are you asking us?"

Our friend grinned at us. "I am."

"We get to go to New Orleans," I told Nick. "Nick, we get to go to New Orleans!"

"Well, I'd love to!" Nick grinned.

"Oh, yes, please, Chris!"

"Alright, it's settled, then. I'll call the director first thing in the morning." Grinning, he gave us each a pat on the back and went back around to his seat at the table.

"Hey, Mom," I called over to her in excitement, causing the conversations around the table to die down, as my voice was the loudest there. "Chris is taking me and Nick to New Orleans! That's awesome!"


	11. Confession

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 11: Confession

David called me the next morning as I was packing up my dorm. "Liza, Liza, you're not going to believe this. Oh my God, I'm so excited!"

"What, David, what?" I laughed.

"You know how Cole's got this uncle living in New Orleans?"

"Yeah?"

"Well he doesn't talk about him much but last night we were hangin' out and jamming and he starts going off about this uncle and how he apparently manages the House of Blues in New Orleans."

I gasped.

"Liza, he got us a gig. He got us a Goddamn gig at the House of Fucking Blues in New Orleans!"

"Oh, my God!" I shrieked. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Seriously, what cruel bastard would make this up only to take it back?!"

"This is amazing! When do we go?"

"The gig is next Friday, so we got six days."

I burst out laughing. "Dude, you are not going to believe this."

"What?"

"You remember my God-father, Chris, the old family friend of mine that was at my graduation?"

"Yeah, he's cool."

"He's fantastic," I giggled. "Anyway he's helping make this documentary and has hired me and a friend of ours to help him with it. Guess where we're filming?"

"_Get. Out._"

"That's right: New Orleans! And it's _next week!_"

"Jesus! It's like it was meant to be!"

"We can all go together!" I suggested.

"Dude, this is...... I swear to God, I'm so excited I think I nearly shit myself."

"Siiiiick!" I howled. "Oh, my God, you're disgusting. Okay, you know what I think? I think we all need to get together to figure this out."

"Yeah, definitely. And maybe we can help with the documentary! What's it gonna be about, anyway?"

I froze then, the realization sinking in: none of my band members knew I was a medium.

"Liza?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I'm still here. Um..." I cleared my throat. "The documentary. Yeah. Well, see......" I sighed. I'd kept it from them for four years, despite the fact all five of us had become close friends. I wasn't about to become the victim again, yet at the same time, they, as my closest friends, had a right to know. "Listen, David, there's something I want to tell you."

"Okay, Liza. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, David," I laughed. "Everything's fine. There's just..... this facet of my life I've kept from you and the guys I think you should now know about." I took in a deep breath. "The documentary I'm helping on is going to be focusing on haunted cities in America, and the psychics and mediums that visit them."

David didn't say anything at first. "Alright, and...... I-- I'm just not understanding where you enter in to all of this."

"David," I sighed. "I'm a medium. A psychic. I see spirits, talk to them........ David?"

"You're kidding."

"And why would _I_ make something that serious up, only to take it back?"

"There was this one time during rehearsals last month where you practically tripped over yourself, I mean, you were playing and all of a sudden you looked up and your playing fell apart. It looked like you'd seen something, and you got really shaken and wouldn't talk about it. You had to take twenty minutes, man."

"Yeah, I remember that. I know what you're asking. Yes, a spirit came to me then. I can't control it, when they come to visit. It's...." I laughed. "It's actually kinda aggravating. I wish I could make a date book, you know?"

He chuckled. "So.... what, are we talking Bruce Willis style shit here?"

"A little," I laughed. "Just.... not so Hollywood. David, are..... are you okay?"

"Oh, Liza, dude.... you know me. I am totally fucking chill with this. It's just a lot for my brain to handle. One of my best friends just told me she can talk to ghosts, man. It's kinda heavy, you know?"

I smiled. "Thanks, man."

"You know it."

"Just-- listen, don't tell the guys, okay? I mean, leave it to me. I'll talk to them when we meet up about this trip."

"Oh, my God, of course. This is _your_ deal, dude."

"Okay. So. When do you want to meet?"

"Well, I'll call the others; you call who you need to-- does Chris live in Seattle?"

"No, he's in New York; he'll be flying down separately. But one of the others is here in Seattle, too. My friend Nick."

"Holy shit, that older British guy you're always hanging out with?"

"Yeah, that's him," I giggled.

"He talks to ghosts, too?"

"Something like that."

"Wow...... Okay, so-- you call Nick, a-and would you call Brian, too? I'll call Cole and Phil. Let's make it an emergency meeting, two hours from now."

"I concur, doctor."

David laughed. "Alright. Perfect. Call me back when you have them on board."

"You got it, boss. You do the same. I'll talk to you soon."

Two hours later, Nick and I were at David's new apartment. Boxes were strewn everywhere, and we were waiting on Cole, Brian and Phil. Nick and I were seated next to each other on the floor against the far wall of the living room, and when David got up to get some coffee, I could feel Nick slide his hand into mine. "Are you alright?"

I smiled at him. "I'm fine. Really."

"Are you sure?"

"I should have told them a long time ago, Nick," I nodded, and that's when the front door opened, and the rest of the band came in. I grinned. "Hi, guys."

"Hey, Liza. Nick, what's up, man?" Brian shook Nick's hand.

"Thanks so much for coming on such short notice," Nick said.

"Yeah, don't worry about it.... is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," I said. "We just wanted to talk about the New Orleans trip."

"But call an emergency meeting?"

"Yeah," David cleared his throat. "Um.... Liza wanted to explain that whole bit to you."

All three new pairs of eyes were on me, and I sighed. "Okay, boys, have a seat. There's something you oughta know."

"Oh, my God, you guys got married." It came out in a rush as Brian's jaw hit the floor. He looked from me to Nick and back again.

"Wha--!" I burst out laughing. "Jesus, Brian, pump the brakes, man! No!" Next to me, Nick was laughing, too.

"You guys aren't married?"

"No! We're not even-- Gah....."

"Then what are you?"

"We're mediums."

The laughter immediately died (pardon the pun).

"We're psychics, we, uh..... 'commune with the dead,' if you will."

"What..... like that Bruce Willis flick?" Phil finally piped up.

"You know," I said quietly, turning to Nick. "What is it with everyone wanting to know about Bruce Willis?" I grinned.

Nick shrugged, trying to keep a grin from his face. "Oh, I haven't the foggiest."

I was floored at how well the guys took the news of my being a medium. They had questions, of course. How many spirits I see a day, are they gory, have I seen any of their relatives, have I seen Gwen..... Nick and I fielded the questions as best as we could.

"Yeah, I swear, for the longest time I was sure you guys were gonna get married," Brian laughed.

I chuckled. "Dude, after Gwen died, he was the only friend I had who was in the same boat I was. I could have told anyone. I could have told the whole university. But after doing that back home in SoCal I was sure I'd have been met with the same animosity I'd faced out there. Life seems so much simpler when you keep yourself..... to yourself, if that makes any sense. That's why I'm so grateful for Nick." I smiled at him. "And Chris, too. Chris was my mentor when I was little. He was the one who not only introduced me to Nick, but also taught me that I _wasn't_ a freak. And I'm...." I shook my head. "I wouldn't change it. It's all I've ever known."

Come the end of the meeting, we decided to fly out on Thursday. The gig was on Friday night, and we'd spend all day (or at least most of it) in rehearsals. Saturday was ours, and Sunday, Monday and Tuesday would be spent working on the documentary. And on Wednesday, we'd go home.


	12. New Orleans

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 12: New Orleans

I checked myself in the bathroom mirror one last time as I pulled back my dark brown hair. My eyes that matched my hair scanned the counter-top for a tie, and as I put it back I tucked the stray chunks of hair behind my ears. I'd stayed at Nick's house in one of his extra rooms for a few nights while Brian and I started moving our things out of our old dorms; our boxes and furniture would stay in a storage unit we'd split for a month and a half, until our new apartment was ready. Until then, I'd be staying with Nick.

"Liza, darling," Nick called for me from the other room as I was reapplying my lipstick. "The taxi's here."

"Coming!" I made my way out to the front entryway to find our bags where we'd left them. Nick was talking to the taxi driver. Nick turned when he heard me approach.

"Ah," he smiled. "There she is. Are you ready?"

"I sure am," I grinned, pulling on my backpack and swinging my cased Les Paul over my shoulder. "Let's get the hell outa here."

Brian, Cole, David and Phil all rode together in Phil's car and we met at the gate. Naturally, as soon as we got there, our flight to Dallas was delayed by an hour, so we then had an hour and a half to wait for the plane. Cole and I got out our guitars and began to jam. David pulled out his guitar (just because he was our lead singer didn't mean he didn't play, too) and eventually all four of us were acoustically rehearsing one of our songs for the show. Phil pulled out his drumsticks and began tapping on my empty guitar case.

"Liza, you can't play that note there." David stopped and pointed to my frets.

"Why not?"

"It isn't right."

"But I like the way it sounds!"

"You can't go there from there. It isn't right!"

"What the fuck?!"

"_Now boarding flight 1138 to Dallas_......."

"Ugh, that's ours." I rolled my eyes, and we started packing up our things. "I still like the way it sounded."  "Liza! God! Get on the plane!"

"Dude! That is totally how it should be played! Why are we arguing about this the day before the gig?" I trotted up behind David as we waited in line to board.

"Hell if I know, _you're_ the lead guitarist! I'd be asking you the same thing!"

I groaned loudly. Typical conversation between any of us when talking shop.

Our connecting flight in Dallas was on time, and we ended up only having to wait about thirty minutes. We immediately ate lunch, for it was nearly two at that point, and all of us were starving. It wasn't long before we were all onboard and waiting to take off. We sat in pairs: Cole and Phil, me and Nick, David and Brian. I had the window seat, and Nick sat to my left. When we were in the air at last, I let out a yawn.

"Tired?"

"Mm-hmm," I nodded, looping an arm through his as I leaned my head against his shoulder. He chuckled quietly, placing a hand over mine, and I was sure then that I was hallucinating when he kissed my forehead.

"Sleep, darling...... the flight isn't very long but it will do you good if you rest."

New Orleans was beautiful. Chris was staying at the same hotel we were; it was this lovely little wrought-iron building at the end of the French Quarter. The hotel itself had a strong reputation of being haunted, of course. We checked in, left our things in our room and then I decided to go exploring: I'd seen this amazing courtyard out back, with a fountain and wrought iron furniture and huge magnolia trees covered in vines. It was incredible. There was a gate in the back that lead to a small field where guests could take their pets for a run.

When we checked in, everything was in order, but there had been a weird snafu in the booking of the rooms. Chris had gotten his own room, as planned; Cole and Brian, Phil and David in pairs in separate rooms, but something happened with my room and Nick's, so we ended up having to split a room. I didn't care, really; new place, new city, a medium staying in a haunted hotel.... I didn't want to stay alone anyway.

Chris and Nick went off to find the film crew, leaving the five of us "bandies" to our own devices. "Hey, David, gimme your guitar, man," Phil called out. We were all piled in the room Phil and he were sharing.

"I swear to God if you break it I'll kick your ass."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Boys, I'm going for a walk. Please tell me you _won't_ be destroying the room like a bunch of heathens."

"You're a freakin' _riot_, Liza," Phil laughed.

"Hey," I grinned, opening my arms. "It's me!"

"What, you ain't rehearsin' with us?"

"No, dude. Not tonight. I'm freakin' tired. Plus, we got all day tomorrow. I wanna go exploring. Tell the others I'll be around, okay?"

"Alright, Ghost Hunter. Good luck!"

"Thanks," I laughed.

I walked the hall and found my way to the courtyard around back. Stepping outside, I squinted against the sunlight that came streaming down through the canopy of magnolia trees that gave some shade to the tables and chairs that were scattered along the stone walkways. Once I made it past the point of banging my knees on wrought iron and stone, I closed my eyes, shut down my ears and turned up my other senses.

Within seconds, something told me to open my eyes, and when I did, what I saw took my breath away.

The trees were younger, smaller..... the furniture was gone, as were the sounds of the traffic from out front. But it was the people that first got my attention, followed by the astounding gown I found when I looked down at myself. I turned back to the house. Horses were everywhere, being handled by slaves in straw hats and cotton overalls.

I turned back to the gate at the stone wall, following the path down and around, past the stables and to the slave's quarters. I could hear the sound of hammering and sawing out from behind the little house. A little boy no older than eight played outside with one of the chickens, and when he saw me, he jumped up and ran inside. I strained to hear him.

"It be Miz Margaret, Uncle."

There was a commotion, and the little boy came back out a moment later. Without a word, he motioned for me to come inside. I did so, tentatively at first, and when I entered the small, dimly lit little house, the child ran out to the back of the house. Something moved to my right, and I jumped.

"Ssh, ssh..... It's me, Maggie, it's me."

I turned to find the Uncle the child must have been speaking to, a slave no older than twenty-eight, and something about him seemed so..... familiar. Without warning, a name was on my tongue.

"Elijah?"

"Well, yeah, Maggie, it's.... it's me." He smiled at me kindly, confused, and took my hand. "Your Elijah. Who else would it be?"

I kissed him then, surprising the hell out of myself.

"_Liza...._"

I sat on the side of the wooden bed and he crouched down in front of me, pushing me back onto the bed.

"_Liza...!_"

He began to undo the buttons on the front of my dress, and I closed my eyes, feeling myself begin to swoon.

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh! God, what? What?" My eyes flew open, and I was breathing hard. I was standing on the edge of the stone walkway in the courtyard, dressed in the black tank top and blue jeans I'd left Seattle in. Nick had his hands on my shoulders and was in an absolute state of worry. Gently moving stray pieces of hair from my eyes, he smiled at me. "You know, I'm beginning to feel as if the snafu committed on the part of our gracious hosts was all for the better." He paused, dropping his voice to barely a whisper. "Where did you go, sweetheart?"

"I..." I shook my head, swallowing hard. "I need some water."

"Of course. Come on." Sliding an arm around my shoulder, he led me back inside. "I'll get you something to drink. In the meantime, the film crew is in the lobby. Do you feel up to talking to them?"

I looked up at him. "Well...."

"It's alright. I'll be with you. Chris, too. Oh, Liza....." He stopped and looked me in the eye. "I've never seen you like this. Are you sure you're alright?"

I shook my head to clear it, and I laughed quietly. "Oh..... I-I'm fine, really, I just-- I've never quite experienced anything like that before."

"Tonight, you can tell me about it. Hmm?" He smiled gently at me.

"Yeah. Okay."

"That's my girl." Nick kissed my forehead. "Come on." He offered me his arm and I took it, comforted by this man I knew would always be there to guide me through the unknown.

--------

MUSIC:

Go check out "The Mystic's Dream" by Loreena McKennit (sp.?). Liza sees the past in the courtyard.....


	13. Interview

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 13: Interview

Pen and paper in hand, Michael Rainey sat down across from me in the lobby next to one of the cameramen. Michael was a really nice guy. His sister had been a medium, but committed suicide in her early twenties due to the fact she had no-one to talk to and it all got to be too much for her. I couldn't imagine how hard that must have been for her. As director, Michael wanted to interview me, Nick, Chris and a fourth medium, a woman in her mid-thirties who came in from Omaha. I didn't learn anything else about her, much less meet her that night; we would all get together as a group the day after the gig I was playing with the band. It looked as if I was the last one to come in to talk to Michael separately. Nick didn't leave the room; he and Chris stayed off to the side and talked so quietly I was surprised they could hear each other.

"So. Liza. Tell me about yourself."

"Well...." I thought, then giggled. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Start at the beginning."

"My name is Elizabeth Leroux-- I go by Liza. I am twenty-four years old and I am a medium."

"How old were you when you first started seeing spirits?"

"Four years old."

"Wow, that's really young. What happened? Was it just.... instantaneous? Did you just wake up one day, and....."

"Uuh, no, actually; my father and I were in a car accident on the way home from market one day. My doctor said that we both should have died, a-and I actually did. I was legally dead for three and a half minutes. My doctors busted their asses and brought me back, only I..... I brought the dead with me."

"God. That- that's incredible. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged, smiling. "I wouldn't change a thing."

"Why not?"

"All my life, all I've ever known is the supernatural. It's as normal to me as breathing and eating and brushing my teeth in the morning. I've had my ups and downs and things I really wish had happened differently, but in the end, I'm not sure I'd change a thing."

"That's wonderful. Has there been any once incident that's stuck with you?"

"Well.... um. My best friend from childhood died about four years ago, see. She, was a medium, too. Another car accident. I got banged up pretty bad, my face included." I touched my left cheek. "Anyway, Gwen wasn't so lucky. She......" I glanced down at the floor, tracing the patterns of the gnarly scars up and down my right leg. "I had to talk her through keeping conscious, but she died before the ambulance got to us." Michael offered me a Kleenex, and it wasn't until then I realized there were teardrops landing on my arms. "Thanks," I sniffled. "So yeah, about.... well, let's say three or so months after she died, she came to me one night-- I was with Nick-- and basically said her goodbyes, that it was time for her to cross over. And we watched her go."

Michael listened intently to my story. "Liza, I'm so sorry you lost your friend like that. It looks as if we've both lost mediums close to us."

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm real sorry about your sister."

"Thank you, Liza." Michael smiled kindly. "Now. One last question for the evening. What would you say scares you the most?"

I was surprised by the question. "What-- what scares me?"

"Mm-hmm," Michael nodded.

"What scares me..... hmm. Well, in my life, I've seen a lot of freaky, crazy shit, whether it be due to the fact I'm a medium, or..... other things. Being a medium, I can see what most people don't. Feel what most people would assume a passing breeze. And although it can be terrifying.... it's all I've ever known. I suppose you can say that what I'm most afraid of is what I _can't_ see."

"It went okay? The interview with Michael."

"Oh, yeah, it went great."  "Good," Nick smiled.

"Hey, did he ask you what you were most afraid of?"

"Why, yes.... yes he did. I thought it was a very interesting question."

"Yeah, me, too. Did you tell him about the rats?"

"Oh, for goodness sake....." Nick laughed. "I shouldn't have even told _you_ about my one, strange little fear, it seems, if all you're going to do is tease me!"

I giggled. "Nuthin' but love for ya, baby!"

I explained everything that happened in the courtyard to Nick and Chris at dinner some. That night the seven of us found an amazing Cajun restaurant down the street, and we enjoyed a night of delicious food and good laughs. It was strange, finally being able to discuss my abilities with my band-mates. But it felt good to let it all go. Finally, the check came, and by that time it was so late that even the four cups of coffee I'd had throughout the day began to wear off. I knew it was a sign for me to call it a night, so when we got back to the hotel I slipped into an old pair of sweat-pants and an old t-shirt and collapsed onto one of the two double beds in the room Nick and I shared. Curling up under the covers, I messed around with my phone for a few minutes with the lights on, waiting for Nick to get out of the shower. I eventually got bored and plugged it in to my charger. Nick came out as I was getting comfy under the sheets.

"You need the lights?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Hit 'em."

Nick let out a short breath, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "Goodnight, dear Liza."

"Mmmm," I grinned. "'Night."


	14. Darkness

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 14: Darkness

I fell asleep easily and slept wonderfully. That is, until about three. It wasn't that someone was being noisy, or I needed to pee, I just woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. I gave it twenty minutes before sliding on my flip-flops and stepping out into the lit hallway, being careful not to wake Nick, who was asleep in the next bed. I decided to step into the library and do some historical reading about the hotel we were staying at. I was a little nervous about going around by myself at the hotel, but I figured I'd be okay. There was a lady working the front desk, and as far as tenants from the hotel were concerned, I only ever saw two. Finding an old photo album, I pulled it out and leaned against the bookshelf, flipping gently through the pages. Apparently, the family that lived here owned slaves and horses; it was a journal, as well. The plantation was owned by a man named Paul Browning. He was a man who had the reputation for being a very stern and sometimes nasty slave owner. He was married to a young French woman named Margaret Rachelle in 1858. Then I got to the pictures.

_Paul Browning, ca 1861_

_ The plantation after construction_

_ Their first horse_

_ A escaped slave recaptured. Browning was never kind to his slaves. _The picture was macabre. The poor man who'd tried to escape was tied at the wrists and on his knees in front of Browning, who had a cat-of-nine-tails in one hand and a triumphant grin on the other. "Ugh," I made a face. "Such a gentleman."

_Browning's punishment for going against him._ It was a photograph of a young slave no older than thirty hung by the neck in the old oak out back, and as I was about to turn the page, I felt something snap. I looked at the slave again. His face.... why did I know him? It hit me then, and I had to clutch the chair next to me to keep from going to my knees.

It was Elijah.

I forced myself to turn to the next photograph, a young woman with dark hair and dark eyes.

_ Margaret Rachelle Browning, ca 1864_

My heart slammed to a halt and my hand flew to my mouth. "Oh, Jesus!"

It was _me_.

I started to read through the book, furiously looking for some kind of clue as to what happened.

"_In eighteen-sixty-five, Paul Browning came home from a two week tour of Georgia for new slaves to find Margaret at home and in bed with one of their slaves. The slave was immediately escorted outside and lynched; Margaret was forced to watch from their bedroom window, and when that was finished, he beat and strangled her to death._"

I could see it as if it were all happening in front of me, as if I were Margaret. I saw it like it was a memory of my own. The feeling of anguish at having to watch the man I love hang from the oak out back. The feeling of excruciating fear as the man I hated beat me. It was more than I could bear. I was sobbing uncontrollably when I looked up and realized I was no longer in the library.

I was in the courtyard, directly below the old oak where Elijah had died. I could see the hotel in front of me, lights burning brightly. I looked to my left and right and saw I was alone. I was so terrified, I was certain I would throw up at any second. And that's when two things happened almost at once: the ground beneath me began to tremble. It gave a shudder and that's when I saw Nick, sprinting down the hall and screeching to a halt at the French doors that were swung open wide. His face was white as a sheet.

"ELIZABETH, NO!"

"Nick?" My tiny voice shook nearly as hard as the rest of me.

I was falling, and fast. The air in front of me turned cold; my breath billowed out in front of me in gasps. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. There was a sound behind me, and I prayed to God it was another guest. I turned to find I was visually alone, although I knew better. It was him. It was Browning. I knew it, and there was nothing I could do about it. So I screamed. I screamed like I'd never screamed before in my life. I could feel my own blood curdle in my veins, and within a fraction of a second, he had me by the throat. He came at me so fast and so hard that he actually lifted me up a good three or four feet off the ground. I kicked my feet furiously, trying to make contact, even though I knew it was pointless. I couldn't breathe as his frigid hands tightened around my neck. And that's when he threw me. Hard. Right across the courtyard and into one of the magnolia trees. I slammed into it with such force, I was shocked when I didn't hear anything break.

"NICK!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "HELP ME!" I looked up to see him sprinting towards me, and I reached out for him, but he was catapulted across the courtyard as if he had been thrown. "NO!" I screamed, sobbing. "You leave him alone--" Browning was at my side in an instant as I tried to get up, and he kicked me back down. There was a ripping sound as I felt wounds blossoming open on my back. He had his cat-of-nine-tails with him. He hit me again and again, harder and harder, and I screamed myself raw. The pain was excruciating. Finally, I was up in the air again and a hand slammed down over my face as I was sent flying yet once again. The fear was blinding. I hadn't ever been that scared in all my life. I screamed in pain as I tumbled into the fountain. Looking up, I didn't need to see him to know he was coming at me again. I put my arms up to shield me from my attacker, even though I knew it would be useless. No, please! I tried to beg, but terror had a strong hold on me, too.

Browning lifted me into the air again, and I waited for the throw..... when, with a blink, he was gone. I went tumbling down onto the stones.

Writhing, the screams were silent now because I was sobbing so hard. Terror and pain burned white-hot through my veins as the whole world spun around me. Sucking in a lungful of air, I screamed again and was actually able to produce sound.

"_NIIIIICK!!_"

"Elizabeth! Oh God oh God oh God....." Nick crouched down next to me and pulled me up into his arms. I screamed again when his hands reached my back; when he took it away, it was covered with blood. Everything hurt. My back, my head, my neck, my arms, my legs, my stomach.... "Liza, sweetheart," Nick shook. "Look at me. For the love of God, look at me!" I gazed up into his eyes, and I realized then it was the first time I'd ever seen Nick cry. "Please, baby," he sobbed. "Say something!"

"Help me!" I wept.

----------

MUSIC:

This was a very intense chapter to write, for me, for obvious reasons. The song "Darkness" by Peter Gabriel was a HUGE inspiration for not just the attack sequence, but just the general conversation of fear that took place in the previous chapter. The song is about the need to not let your fears own you; it's a powerful and frightening song, powerful and frightening for a reason-- Gabriel perfectly conveys the message of YOU owning your fears, and not the other way across, although there are times in which it cannot be helped....


	15. Panic

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 15: Panic

Scooping me up in his arms, he ran with me into the lobby. The receptionist was at our side as he gently let me down into the sofa.

"My God, I heard screaming, is she-- Oh!" The woman jumped when she saw me.

"Get me a blanket, now."

She did as Nick told her, and was back in a second. Nick wrapped me up and pulled up a chair next to me.

"Christ, what happened to her?"

Nick looked up at the woman. "Paul Browning."

The receptionist's face went white as a sheet. "There's a doctor staying in room three nineteen. I'll get her."

"Liza, darling....." He turned back to me, shaking, and took up my hand. I was still crying, and the pain still burned through every nerve in my back.

"Nick," I sobbed. "Are you okay? He hurt you!"

"I'm fine, love! I'm alright, I promise."

"Oh, I _hated_ seeing you hurt like that."

"I know, Liza, I know. But I swear to you, I'm fine. Nothing broken. Now, what of you?"

"M-my back really, really hurts," I whimpered.

"Let me look at it." He helped me turn to my stomach, and I had to find the best spot to put my arms, as I could feel bruises forming all up and down them. Next to me, Nick made a sound. I turned my head to look at him. His hand was over his mouth.

"Oh, God!" I wailed. "Is it really that bad?"

"What happened?" It was a voice I didn't recognize, a woman's.

"You're the doctor?"

"Yes, I--" She came around the couch to look at me and drew in a sharp breath. "Jesus!" Kneeling down next to me, she touched my arm. "What happened to you?"

"It was one of the spirits. The slave owner."

"Apparently, she looks just like the wife that cheated on him," Nick added quietly.

"Oh, God...... Okay. Hey, we're gonna have to cut through your shirt, is that alright?"

"Hah," I scoffed, still crying. "Browning's already ripped it to shreds, no doubt. You can freaking have it."

"Miss?" She called for the woman from the front desk to bring her some scissors, and the doctor began cutting through my shirt.

"Is there anyone else you want me to call?" The receptionist asked me.

"Um..." I sniffled. "Chris Joseph, room four-ten."

"And your name?"

"Liza."

"Right away." She ran back behind the counter and immediately got on the phone. "Yes, Mr. Joseph? It's Tanya, at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have a young woman down here by the name of Liza asking for you; she's very badly wounded. Can you come straight away? Yes, sir, I'll tell her."

The doctor smiled at me as the receptionist was on the phone. "You are a very brave young woman, you know that?"

"He's on his way," Tanya told Nick quietly, and he thanked her.

I did my best shrug I could under the circumstances. "I've never been so scared in all my life. It was like..... that whole deer in the headlights thing. I could see Nick and I heard him calling out for me. I knew I should move but I.... I just couldn't." My voice cracked, and I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand. "My legs locked up on me."

Nick took my hand, smiling a bittersweet smile. Tears were welling over again, and he kissed my palm. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him. I tried to stop him, but he....." Nick shook his head. "There was nothing I could do but watch you fly across that courtyard...... excuse me." Nick got up and went to the counter for a Kleenex.

"Oh, Nick....." Just when my crying died down, it started back up again.

The doctor smiled at me, dropping her voice. I knew it wouldn't matter. Nick had a way of hearing things. "Something tells me he's not your father."

I looked at her and managed to return the smile through the tears. He wasn't even what she was assuming, but I didn't care. "How'd you guess?"

She laughed then, reaching for something from her kit. "Your name's Liza?"

"Mm-hmm." Another sniffle.

"It's nice to meet you, Liza. I'm Cindy."

"Thanks for patching me up, Dr. Cindy."

"Don't mention it," she smiled.

"Liza? Nick, what--"

"Chris? Chris!" I tried my best to raise my head to see him, but it hurt too much, and I let my head fall back down on the pillow with a moan. So instead, I reached out a battered and shaking arm for him. The welts and bruises were already in full swing; I looked like a leopard.

Chris came around and into my field of vision next to the doctor. "Oh, baby....." One hand took mine and the other flew to his mouth. "What happened?" He crouched down next to me, kissing my forehead.

"I was attacked," my voice was weak and hoarse from all the screaming and crying.

"Oh, God! Honey!" He turned to Tanya. "Have you called the police?"

"Chris....." Nick motioned for him from the counter and explained everything. Cindy looked at me.

"Father?"

"_God_-father," I managed a smile- although at that point I think it may have been more of a grimace than anything- and Cindy laughed.

"Okay. Now. Liza." She'd gotten serious again. "I've managed to clear the blood from your back, and now, this is going to be the hard part." She held up a little white bottle. "Alcohol."

_Nick?_ I didn't say it out loud, but he heard it anyway. He turned at the sound of his name, and came over to sit down by my head and hold my hand. Chris pulled up another chair.

"I'm afraid infection may set in, and this is going to be an extra added boost to the meds I'm going to give you in a minute. The only problem, as you may know, is that..... well, to be quite blunt, it's going to sting like a sonofabitch."

"Ooh, boy. Well, second time in one night, doc; bring it on." I sighed, squeezing Nick's hand. "I'm ready."

"Okay."

In no more than five seconds, my back was on fire, and I shrieked, squeezing my eyes shut. "Oooh, ouch! Ow, ow, ow, ow........." Tears sprung to my eyes again as I let out a wail. "Ooh, Chris, it hurts!"

"I know, Liza," Cindy frowned. "I know. Almost done. You've got one hell of a mess back here."

"It's alright, baby," Chris soothed, stroking my hair as I squeezed Nick's hand. "We're right here."

I clenched my teeth together and powered through it.


	16. You're the One

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 16: You're the One

In twenty minutes time, I was all patched up and sitting up on the sofa. My crying had actually stopped, but I was still trembling and my voice was shaky. Before getting up, Nick had run to our room and gotten me a new shirt from my suitcase. The doctor gave me some Ibuprofen for the pain. Some of the other patrons of the hotel had heard my screams and were up and about, trying to figure out what was going on. It didn't surprise me that none of my band-mates heard my cries; they could sleep through a hurricane.

"Can you walk?" Chris stood in front of me and held out his hands. I looked at Nick next to me, and he smiled reassuringly. Reaching out, I grabbed Chris' hands and hoisted myself up. It didn't hurt to stand, so I started to walk, and was thrilled to find that it wasn't as hard as I'd feared it would be.

"There's my girl," Chris grinned at me. "How you feelin'?"  "Eh," I shrugged, causing the pain in my back to flare. I made a face. "The best one can, given the circumstances."

"Fair enough." He squeezed my hand. "Oh, come here...." He gently pulled me into a hug and I held on to him tightly. "Baby, I'm so sorry......"

Cindy sifted through her bag. "Here," she handed me the remaining roll of gauze and tape we'd used on my back, plus one new roll of each. "Have your family help you with this. Go back to your room, get some sleep and when you wake up, change the dressings. If you need me, you are all more than welcome to stop by my room any time. I'm in three-nineteen and I'll be here for an entire week."

"Oh, thanks, doc. Thanks alot. Nick and I are in four-twenty-five. I really appreciate everything."

"Don't mention it, hun." She grinned at me. "You gonna be okay now?"

"Absolutely." I smiled up at Chris and threw a glance at Nick. "I've got the best family in the world."

"That you do. You take it easy, now. Come see me sometime tomorrow anyway, I'd like to check back up with you, see how you're doing."

"Liza.... sweetheart......" Nick gently took my elbow. "Bedtime."

Saying goodnight to Chris and Cindy, we made our way down the hall in silence; I was still wrapped in the blanket and my back hurt a little less as the medicine started to kick in.

"Nick?" He wasn't saying anything as we walked back to our room, and that worried me. I could understand, considering what just happened. But I still wanted him to say something. Anything. I grabbed his arm. "Nick, talk to me, please, I.... I'm scared." My voice shook.

"When I woke up and you weren't there, I.... my God, I was petrified. I knew something......." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "You know, it was like being back on that street corner at the bottom of the hill, I-- Liza, I swear to _God_, if anything were to have happened to you, I mean _really_ happened--" Cutting himself off, he sighed, leaning against the wall and covering his face with his hands. When he took them away, he shoved them in his pockets and took in a deep breath. Nick looked at me silently for a moment. "What would you have me do?"

And for the first time in the years I'd known him, something inside began to ache, melt, and spin to the point of making me delirious. "Nick...." I took a step or two for him, and he stood back up to face me. It was my heart, slamming like a drum from something other than the rush of being beaten senseless by the soured spirit of a slave owner. Sliding my arms around his waist, I leaned my head against his chest and buried my face in his neck. "Just hold me," I whispered, and he did. We stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity.

"Come on, darling. Into bed with you."

I curled up into the bed carefully as to avoid upsetting any of my wounds. I'd looked in the mirror when I'd gotten back; light bruises, lighter than I'd anticipated, dotted my arms, and there was a scrape on my face, accompanied by a welt on my eyebrow and a black eye. My back was what got the brunt of the trauma, although I wasn't able to get a good look at that. Nick sat down on the bed with me as I got comfortable.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Four-thirty."

I groaned. "And to think we have a gig tomorrow......"

"Are you still considering going through with it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean-- I can't just cop out now."

"Liza, darling, I think they'll understand if you do."

"I can't, Nick. I can't let them down." I carefully rolled onto my back to look up at him. "I'm going through with everything. The gig, the documentary..... the show must go on, man."

Nick smiled at me, gently pushing the hair from my face. "I don't know how you do it. You are so much braver than I was at your age."

"I _feel_ so much braver with you around," I smiled. It was strange saying it, but I knew it to be one hundred percent true. "Where would I be without you, huh?" My voice had dropped to a near whisper, and I kissed his hand as it brushed past my cheek again.

And then it happened. Nick leaned down his lips gently met mine. The adrenaline kicked in again, and as I slid my arms around his neck, I kissed him back. He slid into bed with me and I sat up.

"So it's true, then."

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"You said something in the hall. If anything were to happen to me......" I looked at him, hoping to God he'd speak honestly about this, because really, I was beginning to fall in love with him. It was something that I'd only realized that night.

"Liza....." His face melted into a smile as he took my face in his hands and kissed my lips again. When he pulled away, he took my hands in his and gently placed them on his chest. All the while, he kept eye contact with me. "You," he said softly, "are the air inside my chest." It sank in as we sat gazing into each other's eyes, and despite the fact I was still shaken from the night's events, I was hit with instantaneous, blissful happiness. He loved me. I kissed him then, again and again, and fell asleep in his arms.

The sun was up when I came to, but it wasn't our brightest star that woke me. Even with the shades drawn, bits of sunlight made their way through. I heard voices at the door, and I immediately recognized them belonging to Nick and Brian. I closed my eyes again and listened.

"Oh, my God, Nick, I heard the news. Is she awake? Can I talk to her?"

"Brian... Brian, she-- ssh, she's asleep now, and she's going to be fine. The doctor gave her some drugs for the pain and she's sleeping off some of what happened. She wants to go through with the show tonight."

There was silence before I heard Brian's answer. "She does?"

"Yes. I have no idea how in the hell she'll do it, but......"

"Yeah, well...... she's a trooper."

"That she is," Nick agreed.

"Jesus, I.... I can't believe none of us woke up! I can't _believe_ we didn't hear anything!"

"Well, it didn't last long, thank heavens."

Brian made a noise of agreement. "Okay," he sighed. "Well-- just let me know when she's awake. I'll let the guys know she's alright."

"Thank you, Brian."

I heard the door shut quietly and then footsteps on the carpet. The bed next to me moved, and I could feel a kiss on my cheek.

"Mmm... hi." I opened my eyes slowly to find him lying down next to me, smiling.

"How do you feel?"

"Groggy. Sore. I could use some more sleep. What time is it now?"

"Nine o'clock on the dot."

"Okay," I yawned. "Listen, we go on at ten tonight and we need to leave at eight thirty; the boys want to rehearse at two, so.... in case I sleep too late, can you....?"

"Liza, darling," he chuckled, kissing my forehead. "Don't worry. I'll handle everything. The band, the film crew..... You just worry about getting your rest."

"Mmm. Thank you," I whispered, smiling.

"You bet."

In seconds, I was off to sleep again.

----------

MUSIC:

The title of this chapter comes from the song of the same name by Paul Simon. It's a sweet little love song that perfectly conveys Nick's feelings for Liza; as a matter of fact, his line, "You are the air inside my chest," was taken directly from the song.  
"May twelve angels guard you while you sleep. Maybe that's a waste of angels; I don't know… I'd do anything to keep you safe from the dangers that surround us...."


	17. Checkup

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 17: Check-up

I woke up for good at noon, and Nick helped me change the dressings on my back. "Are you hungry?" he asked, taping down the last piece of gauze.

"I could eat an entire house," I frowned, clutching at my stomach. "I take it they're done with the free breakfast for the day?"

Nick laughed. "I'm afraid so, yes. Well, get yourself dressed and we'll go out and get something before you go in to rehearsal."

After taking three more Ibuprofen, I got dressed, brushed my teeth, made myself presentable and emerged into the main gathering areas to find that my story was the talk of the hotel. I wore the spaghetti strap I'd initially intended upon wearing that day; I wasn't about to let my fears own me. I didn't care who saw the bandages sprawling out across my back.

The lobby was full of guests, some of whom I heard whispering and caught looking. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I looked for the others; there was a voice in my ear.

"You know, darling, you _could_ have made a different wardrobe selection, had you wanted your anonymity to be assured."

"I'm fine, Nick." I turned to smile at him, then reached up and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry about me. And really..... it's hotter than Hades out there," I made a motion for the wide doors that opened out onto Bourbon Street. "I'm not about to go out there in something that would send me into a heat stroke, especially with these bandages."

"Point taken," Nick chuckled, and he slid his arms around my waist, pulled me in towards him and kissed my lips.

"Nick," I whispered, giggling. "C'mon, what if the others see? Chris, huh?"

"Eeh," Nick winced, looking around. "You may have a point, but I don't see them anywhere, and..... " His eyes fell back to mine with a devious look.

"And....? Nick Hardaway, what are you hiding from me?"

"Chris already knows."

My jaw fell open. "Wha.... How?!"

"You, um..... you talk in your sleep. A few months ago, when you stayed in my extra room after having stayed over to study. I was on the phone with Chris and I overheard you."

"Oh! Hardaway, I swear to _God_--"

"What?" He laughed with me, taking my hands in his.

"Oh, I swear, I don't know if I should scream or kiss you," I grinned, breathless from laughter.

"How about the latter of the two?" Nick asked softly. He took my face in his hands and leaned in to make good on his suggestion. I didn't stop him, either. As soon as I pulled away from him, I could hear familiar laughter coming down the hall. David and Phil emerged from the opposite hallway, and David was the first to spot us.

"Liza?" His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "Liza!" Bolting for us, he pulled me away from Nick and hugged me.

"Aah! Da-- David, okay, buddy, alright-- let go. David, my back."

"Oh! Sorry. Ooooh," he winced. "I really did it, didn't I?"

"Uh-uh," I shook my head and grinned through clenched teeth as a fresh wave of pain rippled through my back. "I'm fine, really."

"Liza, God, I'm so sorry about what happened last night." Phil hugged me a little more gently than David had. "Brian told us everything this morning. How are you feeling?"

"I.... see another Ibuprofen cocktail in my near future."

"My God, and she's not even pre-cog," Nick teased. The devious smile had returned.

"Hardaway!" I giggled. "When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you."

"Oh!" Nick howled. "Harsh!"

Phil laughed. "Where's the rest of the group, anyhow?"

"Right here," I heard Chris behind us, and I turned, grinning, to give him a hug. "Hi, sweetheart. How's the morning been for you?"

"Oh, just fine. That is, until my previous dose of Ibuprofen wears off." Brian and Cole were with him, and naturally, everyone wanted to check up on me, but I insisted upon walking while we talked. "I'm starving, you guys. Come on, let's go find some lunch."

I had a few questions for my father that day. I called him and asked him about Margaret Rachelle Browning. Sure enough, she was my great-great-great aunt. Her sister had married into the Leroux family. I made it a point not to tell my father about the attack yet; I would tell him when we got back to Seattle but for now, I needed to know. I was shocked.

For the first thirty minutes of rehearsal, I wrestled with my guitar to try and figure out the best way to wear it without it upsetting my back. I had changed into a t-shirt upon arriving at the hotel after lunch, something that covered my entire back and would at least go without upsetting my bandages. I found that, if I didn't move around _too_ much while playing, I could manage very well. So, after what turned out to be a very good rehearsal (much progress in the way of playing music and no visits from spirits), I went upstairs and had Nick peel off the bandages so I could take a shower. I was very careful with my back. When I got out, It was seven o'clock, and time for another dose of Ibuprofen. Throwing two back, I pulled on what I wanted to wear to the show that night: an old Aerosmith concert tee, my comfy jeans and my Chuck Taylor's. When I was all ready, I went down and paid a visit to the doc.

"Hi, Liza! Come on in."

"Hey, Cindy. Thanks." I went in and had a seat at her desk.

"So how're you feelin' today?"

"Better, actually," I sighed. "I mean, better than I thought I would. Last night I was convinced I'd wake up feeling like a truck hit me."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"Yeah. It's-- it's more like just a ten-speed bike."

"A ten-speed-- oh," Cindy laughed, wagging a finger at me. "You're funny, you. Took me a second there." I grinned as she continued. "So. You mind if I take a look at your back?"

"Oh, you bet. I'm bandage-free at the moment; took a shower and came down straightaway."

"Good. I'll hook you up with some new bandages, no worries."

Even though she turned around for me, I still felt a bit strange pulling off my shirt in front of a total stranger, but she was a doctor, and don't people do this all the time? I lay flat on my stomach on the couch. "Okay," I gave her a heads-up.

"Cool. Alright. Let's see what we got here." She glanced over my back and nodded. "Looks good. Better. No signs of infection. You ready for the alcohol?"

"No," I shook my head. "Which means you better do it soon before I change my mind. _Ouch!_ Ugh, God....." I was super thankful when that finally came to an end. "You know, I'm gonna be blunt with you, doc: I like that shit a lot better when it's being used as an adult beverage as opposed to a cleaning product."

Cindy guffawed. "I'm gonna have to agree with you on that." She paused as she cleared off the remnants of the alcohol. "So.... How long have you and...." She shook her head, trying to remember. "What was his name?"

"Nick?" I smiled.

"Nick. Yes. How long have you two......"

"Been together?"

"Yeah."

"Well-- that's what's kinda funny, I guess, 'cos we're not _technically_ together, although...." I shook my head. "Ah, I dunno."

"Although what?" She laughed.

"Oh, he's in love with me, alright. A-and I guess you could say I return the sentiment."

"Well? Do you?"

"Yeah.... Yeah, I do." I was thinking hard. "I mean, it's sad because it took me getting these wounds for him to come out and tell me, and me, him. It's strange, too, because he's been one of my dearest friends for so long, and he's always been there for me, and it's so bizarre to have these new feelings for him, especially when there's such an age difference, you know?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what _is_ the age difference, exactly?"

"Twenty years."

"Wow. And how old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Aah. Well, for your information, my husband is seventeen years older, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, if I were you." She smiled, and I felt comforted. "Don't let that one get away, girl. You didn't need to tell me he loves you; I could tell by the way he acted when he was with you last night."

"Mm, thanks," I smiled. "Yeah, I...... I really do love him."

"Well. Your back looks fine; You've been taking great care of it."

"Mm-hmm, Nick patched it up this morning."

"Good. The wounds have already begun to scab over. I'll use some of the same meds on it today I did last night, too."

"You know, I haven't even seen it."

"What, your back?"

"Yeah."

"Hang on." Cindy got to her feet and fished through her purse, finally digging out her camera. She took a shot of my back and passed me the camera.

"Oh, my God....." I gaped at the photograph. My back, stretching from the middle of my shoulder blades all the way down to the area just past my lower ribs, was riddled with holes and slashes; in some places, chunks the size of dimes were missing. It was true, I could see parts of it beginning to scab over around the edges, but some places still looked fresh. "Holy shit, if it looks this bad _now,_ I'm glad I didn't see it last night when it was brand-new!" I passed her back the camera.

"Yeah, I'll admit, it already looks loads better from the way it did last night." She shut the camera down and put it away.

"So, doc, what brings you to New Orleans?" I readjusted myself on the sofa.

"Uh.... well, actually, I'm taking part in a documentary. About the spirits of New Orleans."

"What?! So you're the fourth medium, the one from Omaha Michael told us about!"

Her jaw dropped, an she finally grinned. "Well, ain't that a kick in the head. Oh, my God, don't tell me-- Nick, and your God-father.....?"

I grinned, nodding excitedly as best I could from the way I was lying.

"Aah, ha-ha!" She laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. "That's amazing! Okay, let me get you bandaged up. You and I need to talk."

When I sat back up we talked about the documentary, the things we'd seen, and I told her about the band playing at the House of Blues. "We've gotta be there at eight thirty, but the show doesn't start 'till ten. You should come hear us! You like classic rock?"

"I just so happen to enjoy it immensely," she grinned. "I'll make it a point to come see you!"


	18. Modern Moonlight

Another Very Quick Author's Note:

Here it is! This chapter is SOLELY dedicated to Liza's band, Modern Moonlight, and, when it comes down to it, is TOTAL fluff. I hope you can handle it. :D

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 18: Modern Moonlight

The film crew rode in the car behind us. When they found out one of their psychics was in a rock band playing the House of Blues, they begged us to let them film our show, and at first, I felt odd about it, but I brushed it off and agreed. They cleared it with the restaurant and we were ready to go. I took two Ibuprofen and within moments, we pulled into the House of Blues. It was massive, with lights that would dazzle even the most jaded Vegas veteran.

Cole's uncle was at the door, waving and smiling. "Cole!"

"Hey, Uncle Tom!" Cole grinned, hugging his dad's kid brother. "Thanks again for letting us play, I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, kid," Tom laughed. "So this is your band, huh?"

"Yeah. David sings, Liza plays guitar, Brian does the base and Phil is an animal on the drums."

"Ha, thanks, Cole." Phil sucker-punched Cole's arm.

"Hey... it is what it is. Oh, hey, Uncle Tom, we have five people we'd like to put on the guest list, is that okay? One guest per band member, right?"

"You got it."

"Oh, that works out perfect. Okay..." Cole gave him the names of the guests- Nick, Chris, Michael, Cindy and Will, the cameraman. "Cindy's- Liza, did you talk to her?"

"Yeah, she's on her way."

Cole turned back to his uncle. "There you go. The other four are here, though." He motioned to the group.

"Okay. Well, you guys are the first band on. You got an hour, so get on in there and break a leg!"

"Thanks, Uncle Tom!" The band gave a cheer as we plowed over the threshold. We set up immediately, did a sound check and then broke for drinks. It was then that Cindy showed up, and she joined us at the table.

"Liza," Chris got my attention from across the circular table we'd parked at. Shoving ten bodies and a large camera into a table that size was an epic struggle, but we pulled it off. "How do you feel?"

"Huh?"

"Your back.

"Oh, my back is fine, Chris, really!" I grinned. "Seriously, you guys, you don't need to worry about me. I'm sore and my black eye looks worse than it actually is."

"Whatever you say, honey," Chris laughed. "I just worry your guitar strap will aggravate your wounds."

"Yeah, well, if it does: all for the love that is rock 'n' roll, right, boys?" I toasted, and my band-mates joined in with whoops and hollers.

"Yeaaaah!"

"Hear, hear!"

"Tell it like it is, sistah!"

The others laughed at our craziness, and Nick and Chris just rolled their eyes, grinned and shook their heads.

One of the stage managers, with a clipboard in hand and an ear-bud in place, found us about twenty minutes later, after we'd eaten and gotten a second round of drinks.

"You guys Modern Moonlight?

"Yeah," David piped up. "That's us."

"Alright, you guys are on in ten minutes, you'd best make your way up there."

"Awesome! Let's do it, guys! C'mon!"

"Woohoo!"

"Okay, guys," David got us together at the stairs up to the stage. "Here's the set-list we went over today. Phil, a copy for you; Liza and me will share a copy; Brian and Cole, here's your copy. Now, tonight everyone's just doing covers, so unfortunately we won't be doing any of our original shit, but that's okay, 'cos the rest of it's so much fun." I smiled, holding onto our copy and reading it over:

_Supermassive Black Hole – Muse  
__Love in an Elevator – Aerosmith  
__Lick It Up - KISS  
__Thunderstruck - AC/DC  
__Jump - Van Halen  
__Legs - ZZ Top  
__Walk This Way - Aerosmith  
__Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns 'n' Roses  
__Glorious – Muse  
__Burn it to the Ground – Nickelback (Liza sings AND plays; David plays)_

We broke and as the guys made their way to the stage, something caught my eye just as the lights dimmed. It was a platform, maybe four feet up, with a ladder off to the side. While the boys were busy fiddling with their instruments and mics, I grabbed my Les Paul, carefully slid it over my shoulders and made my way around the platform to the ladder. The crowd was massive, and they started howling once the boys got up there. I wanted to show them that I really _was_ fine by pulling the stunt Phil and I had once joked about, especially since we were opening with Supermassive Black Hole.

"Okay, kids." The same stage hand from before came up. "You guys ready?" All of us nodded, and he wished us luck. It was then David saw me.

"Liza, what the fuck?"

"Let's do this shit, man. Toss me the wireless." I held out my hand.

"No! Not 'till you come down."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"God dammit." He tossed the plug up to me.

"Thanks, doll," I grinned, plugging in my guitar to the amp. I looked at Phil, who gave me the thumbs up. _Be careful,_ he mouthed. The stage hand, having jumped off the stage, turned on his hand-held mic and addressed the audience. I could see our table perfectly in the back; everyone but Will was there, waiting. Will had his camera up at the first row, but the band's eyes were on Phil to start us off. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Please give a warm welcome- all the way in from Seattle, Washington, it's Modern Moonlight!"

The crowds roared, and Phil grinned at us. "It's time to melt faces, guys! One, two, three, four!"

The lights blazed when we threw ourselves into Supermassive Black Hole with everything we had. Only seconds into the song, it was time for my three second solo, and I let out a howl as I launched myself from the platform, kicked out my feet and landed right on my mark with bended knee, cushioning my weight. A fresh current of pain rushed through my body, quickly counteracted by the adrenaline pumping through my veins. The crowds were screaming, they went absolutely insane! I'd never heard an audience get so excited, and, in turn, I was on a rock 'n' roll high. That night, we _owned_ that song. This was the life!

Finishing the song, David turned to me, laughing, and still speaking through the microphone. "Pardon my tongue, but what the fuck was that?"

"_That_," I replied with a grin so the audience could hear, "was proof that I really _can_ take a hit and still give you shit."

Everyone howled with laughter. "Oh, holy cow..." David shook his head, putting his face in his hands with a grin on his face. "I swear to God, that's going on a shirt. Ladies and gentlemen, Liza Leroux!"

That got screams and shouts, whoops and hollers from the audience.

"Alright, you guys, thanks for coming out to see us. We're called Modern Moonlight, and as our friend said, we're from Seattle. My name's David Wilcox; you've already met our stellar lead guitarist, Liza Leroux." I got another huge round of applause. "What she's referring to is, last night, she..." I stared at David, my heart slowing. "Well, the poor girl got mugged, to tell you the truth. It was brutal, man. I mean, she's got welts and bruises- she had to take three Ibuprofen just to get up here tonight and yet she's still pullin' out all the stops!" Again, more enthusiasm from the audience. "Yeah," David continued. "She's one hell of a girl. Anyway, on my left here, we've got Cole Hauser on base, Brian Angelo on rhythm guitar..." Cheering. "And Phil Owens on the drums." The crowd loved us. "We got more music for you guys, so why don't we get started?"

We tore through our classic rock set; I barely noticed the pain in my back, as the adrenaline from the music covered it. It wasn't until the last song that I got to sing. David grabbed his guitar, too, for an all-out, epic finish. "Burn it to the Ground" was a gritty, raunchy and filthy song, and I loved it. It made my heart pound, and I absolutely _loved _singing and playing that one. I got up to the mic. "Okay, guys, it's me again. How you doin' tonight, huh?"

"WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"

"Alright! Looks like we're still havin' a good time," I laughed. "Thank God, right? Hey, you know, we just wanna thank you guys for comin' out to see us tonight, 'cos it's been one hell of a journey, man, and my back's startin' to hurt a little. You know, the... whole mugging thing. Anyway! One last song, dudes. Sorry! Lemmie ask you something, who's got a drink out there, huh?"

Hands, glasses and voices went up.

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic. You're gonna need the booze for this one, man. Matter of fact- hey," I stopped the waitress going by. "What's that you're handin' out there?"

"Whiskey shots. Jameson."

"Oh, God, I love that shit! I'll take one, please, and pay you after we finish."

"Don't worry 'bout it. On the house, doll!"

"Ooooh, man, thank you!" I stood back up. "Check it out, guys! Maybe this'll help my back. Ha. Okay, hang on..." I shot the whiskey and shook my head. "Whew! Alright. Where was I? Oh, yeah. As I was sayin', you're gonna need the booze for this one, 'cos we're gonna burn it to the ground tonight, baby!" I tossed the glass into the audience and ripped into the song. The crowd was screaming again, jumping up and down with the beat.

"_Well it's midnight, damn right, we're wound up too tight! I got a fist full of whiskey, the bottle just bit me. Oh, that shit makes me bat shit crazy. We got no fear, no doubt, all in, balls out!_"

We finished the song to an absolute madhouse. The audience was in love, and we had to fight to get through them and back to the storage rooms where we would store our things under lock and chain until we were ready to go home. When we came back out, we made it to the table, where I immediately ordered a Jameson and ginger ale.

"That was incredibly dangerous, you know," Nick said to me as I sat down on his right, dangerously close. I felt his arm slip around my waist, and I looked up at him to find that devious smile trying to escape.

"I know," I nodded, smiling.

"Incredibly dangerous," he continued, leaning in towards me and finally letting the grin escape. "Yet absolutely thrilling." I laughed and he kissed me then.

"Heeeey, I saw that!" Brian cried, pointing at me and Nick with a grin on his face. "I swear to God, sometimes I wonder about you two."

"Well, Brian, wonder away!" I said, toasting with my newly acquired drink.

"Hey! Miss Leroux!" A young man with a pen, paper and a camera came up to our table with a grin on his face. "That was one hell of a stunt up there."

"Thanks," I laughed.

"All of you were amazing tonight, really. My name is Travis Peterson and I'm a reporter with the New Orleans Sun. I'm doing a piece on tonight's performance and was wondering if I could talk to y'all for a few moments. Liza, I got a great shot of you. Look." Travis pulled out his camera and sifted through the pictures on the view screen, finally finding the picture he wanted. It was a picture of me mid air, howling, having launched myself from the platform. I was a good four or five feet in the air and my jaw dropped. I laughed. "That's amazing! Oh, my God, Nick, look at this. Guys, look at this shot!"

"Fuck yes!" Phil howled. "You got it, Peterson!"

"Oh, man," I shook my head. "I gotta get a copy of that. My mom's gonna _die_."

We talked to the reporter for a few moments before we exchanged information. "Thank you so much, guys! A-and that wasn't the only picture of you guys I took, I've got a bunch in here. I'll email them to you. The story should run tomorrow; I'm staying up late to ensure it gets through for the presses."


	19. Unchained Melody

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 19: Unchained Melody

We got back to the hotel at two in the morning. I was so worn out, but I claimed the shower first, and when I got out, Nick helped me with the bandages again. "I find it hard to believe you're not in a substantial amount of pain," Nick told me with a smile. "The way you rocked that show tonight, I'm surprised you're still in one piece!"

I was lying on my stomach, my arms at my sides. Nick sat at my left, and I had my head tilted so I could see him. "I took more meds after we played, so...... it's not so bad, really. I hurt a little, but not enough to let it ruin my evening."

Nick smiled at me and reached up to stroke my hair. Leaning down, he kissed my cheek. "Get comfortable, darling. I'm showering and then I'll be to bed soon, too."

"Mmm," I smiled. Once he was in the shower, I rolled over onto my back. I was still topless, so I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on. I loved that shirt-- a dark button down flannel one of my cousins had forgotten on one of his visits years earlier. It was perfect on him, but huge on me-- perfect for me to sleep in. Nick wasn't gone long; I was playing with my keys when he came out less than ten minutes later in just pajama pants and no shirt, running a towel through his dark blonde hair. My heart tripped over its feet.

"Are you ready for the lights?" he asked, reaching for the switch.

"Go for it," I nodded, putting the keys on the bedside table, and the room was plunged into darkness. I could hear Nick moving across the carpet, and so I reached out my hands. "Here I am. Come for my voice." His hands finally met mine, and I scooted over so he could get in. As he lay back, he pulled me into his arms, and my eyes finally adjusted to the slivers of moonlight that streamed through the curtains to illuminate the bed we occupied. It was then I realized just how entwined we really were. I think Nick must have sensed something.

"Are you alright, darling?" he murmured, rubbing my arm.

"Mm, yeah, I..... I'm fine," I nodded, looking up at him. He smiled at me, tracing my jaw with a finger.

He kissed me then, and my heart gave a slam. I closed my eyes to keep from spinning off into oblivion. I leaned in towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. I was blindsided by it, lost in years of waiting for him, years I didn't realize I'd spent waiting until that one aching moment when he leaned over and kissed me deeply. It was so intense, I started shaking a little.

"Are you cold?" Nick sat up on an elbow and wrapped me in the sheets, but I shook my head. I was barely able to speak, so I slid my arms around his neck before he had a chance to lie back down. It was my turn to kiss him. I brought his lips to mine, and when he pulled away, he lay gazing down into my eyes. I think it sunk in then, as he reached down again to kiss my cheek, my ear, my neck. His lips traced back up my neck and to my ear, giving me shivers.

"Elizabeth....." he breathed, and I swooned then, giving a soft moan. I couldn't take it any longer, so I pulled him on top of me and started unbuttoning my shirt. Nick kissed me again, helping me along. When the shirt was off, I literally threw it across the room in a rush. I may have been tired, but a second wind was kicking in, and I wasn't about to miss this. It wasn't for a long while that we finally settled down for the night........

The next morning settled into my consciousness slowly, and with it came the memories of the sweet sleepless night before, and my face went beet red. I found myself lying on my stomach, my bare back exposed. Next to me, Nick slept soundly with a hand on my waist. I wiggled closer, and he stirred for a moment, opening up his arms for me, and as I curled up against him, he drew the sheets up around me. I slid an arm around his waist and I could hear him laugh softly; when I looked up at him, his eyes were still closed, but that devious little grin was back. He cracked an eye at me.

"Good morning."

I laughed, shaking my head and burying my face in his neck. "You're nuts."

"Me?" He opened his eyes and laughed harder, running a hand down my back. "Says the girl who leaped off the stage last night."

"Mmm," I giggled. "What? I'm a freakin' rock star, apparently. Gotta live it up, man."

Nick chuckled. Tilting my chin, he kissed me softly, putting a stray piece of dark brown hair behind my ear. "How did you sleep, sweetheart?"

"Really well," I sighed. "I was exhausted."

Nick's fingers danced over my back as he studied my bandages, making the little hairs on my arms stand on end. My giggling made him smile.

"Do they still hurt?"

"No, not really."

"That's good." He pulled away part of the bandaging to check on my wounds. "They seemed to have fully scabbed over now."  "Yuck," I made a face. "Nasty."

"Do you need any more medicine?"

"No, I think I'll be fine, thanks. Besides....." I stretched, rolling again onto my back and pulling the sheets up around me. "I'm way too comfortable." Nick rolled with me, resting his chin on my stomach to gaze up at me, smiling. I was perfectly content this way, as I let one arm rest on his shoulder and the other hand run through his hair.

"I'm so sorry, Liza."

I was surprised by his words. What in the world could he be apologizing for? "About what, baby?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop him from hurting you. I wanted so desperately to get you away, but I couldn't."

"Oh, Nick......" I sat up, drawing him up into my arms as he buried his face in my neck. "Hush now, my love. There wasn't anything you could have done. As a matter of fact," I kissed his forehead and pulled him away so I could look into his eyes. "You've done more than enough. You have no idea how much I appreciate everything you've ever done for me."

"Liza....." Nick smiled up at me, taking my face in his hand. "Beautiful Liza." I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. "I love you so much."

I gasped, my eyes flying open. Nick's eyes met mine, and I gaped at him for a moment. When I regained composure, I pulled him to me and kissed him passionately. He gently leaned me back down into the bed, and when we finally broke away, I looked up at him and smiled. "I love you, too."

"Hey! Liza!" David got my attention at the breakfast table. I sat with my band-mates by the huge windows that overlooked Bourbon Street. David passed me the paper. "Check it out!"

"Where's Nick, Liza?"

"Uuh- he's getting dressed. He'll be down in a sec." I answered Brian's question as I skimmed the paper. "Oh! Look, it's us!" I grinned.

"What?" Brian smiled.

"Yeah, and they put in a couple pictures, including that picture of me," I laughed. "Listen, here, I'll read it to you." I cleared my throat and started at the beginning. "'The House of Blues was on fire last night when three bands descended upon the restaurant for 'Cover Night,' House of Blue's all-out dedication to the artists who inspire some of the best up-and-coming bands in America. The three bands were all in from different cities across the country: the Jolly Garagers, from Austin, Texas; Modern Moonlight, from Seattle, Washington; and Young Lust, from Boston, Massachusetts. It was an amazing night all around, and here, three of our reporters fill you in on all the night's debauchery......'" I laughed. "Oooh, debauchery, eh?"

"Hey, Nick!"  "Hello, Cole," Nick smiled, coming around to the empty seat next to me. "And how are you on this bright morning?"

"Great, man, thanks."

"Hi, baby." I grinned as he sat down next to me, kissing my cheek. "Look, we made it to the paper, like that reporter said!"

"Oh?" Nick's eyebrows rose, and he peered over my shoulder to look, sliding an arm around the back of my chair.

"Find the part about us!" Phil piped up.

"Yeah, here it is. Okay." I started again. "'Lead guitarist Liza Leroux knows the meaning of pain. The night before the show, the twenty-four year old Orange County native was mugged and beaten outside her hotel, leaving her with a black eye, scrapes, bruises, and gashes across her back that require new bandages and two Ibuprofen every six hours. The perpetrator has yet to be apprehended, yet if you were to look up the word perseverance in the dictionary, you would undoubtedly see her picture right next to it, because the next night found her on stage at the House of Blues, tearing down the house. The band opened with Muse's 'Supermassive Black Hole.' With the swagger of Joe Perry, the drugged insanity of Eddie van Halen and the devastating precision of Matthew Bellamy, Leroux literally leaped off the platforms usually reserved for special guests and right onto stage with her band mates, creating a mass, joyful hysteria amongst the crowds of fans that had turned out for the evening.

"'She's an amazing young woman,' said Leroux's boyfriend, Nick Hardaway--'" I grinned and could feel my face flush. "'--who had joined the group to see the show. 'I'm not sure how she does it, but she's a real trooper.' Her band mate, lead singer David Wilcox, added, 'Liza's definitely the strongest person I know!'"

I finished reading the article over breakfast and when we were done, we were ready to see the city. "Nick," I turned to him as we stood in the lobby, waiting for Chris, Cindy, Mike and Will to join us. "Why do you think we've not seen or heard any further spirit activity since we've been here at the hotel?"

Nick made a face, thinking. "I'm not sure, darling."

"Maybe they're regrouping after Thursday night."

"Oh, love..." Nick drew me into a hug. "Listen to me, Liza. Look at me." I gazed up into his eyes. "I would lay down my life before allowing anything to happen to you again."

"Hardaway, don't you dare say that. I can't stand the thought--"

"Elizabeth, do you hear me?" He cut me off

I nodded, silent for a moment. "I love you," I whispered.

"And I love you," Nick kissed my forehead, then pulled me back into his arms. I rested my head on his chest and his voice was in my ear. "Now..... What do you say to going out and having some fun, hmm?" I looked up at him again to find a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's get the hell outa here," I grinned.

---------

MUSIC:

The Righteous Bros.' "Unchained Melody" = the PERFECT song for the time in which Liza and Nick FINALLY..…. ;-D Wink wink, nudge nudge.

"Between Sheets" by Imogen Heap inspired the next morning when they wake up together. :)


	20. Elijah

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 20: Elijah

We toured the city for most of the day, and on our way back at about six, we stopped in to the same restaurant we'd eaten at that first night and ordered food to go. Taking it back to the hotel, we all ate together in the lobby.

"Oh, I'm stuffed," I grumbled, making a face and leaning against Brian. "I think I'm gonna go pass out, man. Late night gig plus early morning plus long day of walking equals no."

Brian guffawed. "Yeah. You said it."

"You guys gonna jam? What are you gonna do?"

"Yeah, we might. For a little bit, at least. I'm not sure. I'm pretty worn out, too. We may _all_ just crash."

"Mmm."

"Michael," Nick started. "What time would you have us meet tomorrow?"

"Well...." Mike sighed. "How about ten? Here in the lobby?"

"Ten is perfect," I nodded, glancing around at the other psychics in the group, who all nodded and vocalized their agreements.

"Alright, then." Mike grinned. "We'll see you at ten."

Nick and Chris went to the bar to have drinks for a while, and I hugged them goodnight. I was going to shower and call it early. Too much excitement for one day made my nights uneventful. When I got out, I set the alarm for eight thirty and collapsed on the bed with a sigh. Glancing over, I saw my Les Paul leaning against the wall where I'd left it. Tilting my head at it, I narrowed my eyes and focused. The guitar gave a little shake and when I raised my hand towards it, it took to the air and slowly came to me. I grinned, hugging my guitar to me, and then started to pick at it for awhile. When Nick came in about forty-five minutes later, I was still playing.

"Hello, darling," Nick smiled. "I was sure you'd be asleep by now, you looked completely exhausted."

"Oh, I feel it," I chuckled. "Nah, I'm just relaxing a bit before actually succumbing to the sleep."

Nick slid into bed next to me, kissing my lips. "Did you have a good day?"

"I did. It was really amazing to see all those places around town. I've always wanted to come here and I'm so glad I did!"

"Me, too," Nick agreed. "Oh-- did you set the alarm?"

"Yeah, I got it. Eight thirty okay?"

"Perfect."

"Good," I smiled. "Well. You ready? I'm shutting everything down."  "Be my guest, sweetheart."

"Hey-- watch this," I nudged him and lifted my Les Paul out in front of me. Holding it out over the side of the bed, I focused, and then released my hand. The guitar glided across the room and back to the place I'd left it earlier to lean against the wall.

"Perfect," Nick grinned. "You've gotten really good at it, you know."

"Thanks." I put the room into darkness then, and as I slid into Nick's arms, he drew the blankets in around us and held me until we both fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning was a flurry of activity. I pulled on something comfortable that wouldn't upset the wounds on my back, not caring if you could see them or not. Mike asked me if I was comfortable talking about what happened on camera for the show, and I was more than willing. I even showed him my back.

"It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever been through," I told them as the camera rolled. "I'm just grateful it wasn't any worse, because it definitely could have been."

We worked most of the day and late into the night, and the spirits finally came out to play at about eight o'clock that night. I nearly had a heart attack at about eleven thirty; although scared half to death, I agreed to go with Michael out to the slave quarters to see if I could talk to Elijah. I'd explained to them the story of how I'd seen him there the day we flew in, and personally, I was a bit curious to see him again. Chris insisted he go with me. Nick was losing his mind in wanting to go, wanting to stay with me, but I convinced him I would be okay. "Nick," I told him. "I have Chris with me. Everything will be fine."

He looked at me sadly. "If you see anything you can't handle, you get out of there, do you understand?"

Reaching up, I kissed his cheek. "Please don't worry, sweetheart. I'll be right back, I promise." I didn't like leaving his side, either, but it wouldn't be for long.

Chris, Will, Michael and I made our way out through the courtyard; I could feel my heart pounding as I glanced over my shoulder. Nick stood at the doors, arms crossed over his chest, chewing on his fingernails. Making a face, I shook my head. _Don't do that,_ I scolded, then grinned when it hit him. Smiling sheepishly, he shoved his hands in his pockets. I blew him a kiss and turned back to the group. We were at the gate then, and we trekked out across the dark fields and to the slave quarters. It was so dark, I could barely see in front of me, despite the flash lights. I shuddered, and Chris put an arm around me.

"You alright?"

I nodded.

"You sure?"

I shook my head.

"We can always go back."

"No.... Chris, I want to do this." I smiled at him. "I feel like I _need_ to do this. Believe me, I'd be ten times more scared if you weren't here, or if I were alone, period, you know?"

By that time, we'd made it to the clearing at the front of the slave quarters. "Liza?" Mike called out for me, ushering me to him. "C'mere, sweetheart, if you please....." I approached him slowly, watching my step. "Which one was Elijah's?"

I closed my eyes, recalling the flashback I'd had the day we'd arrived. "Here," I opened my eyes and pointed at Elijah's little hut that was now so worn down by age and time that I was surprised I'd even recognized it. I immediately started walking.

"Liza," Chris warned, and when I didn't answer him, he grabbed my hand. "Elizabeth! Be careful."

"Chris, I have to. Now, are you coming, or what?"

"I thought you said you were scared."

"I _am_ scared, Chris. I have my fears. But that is precisely why they don't have me."

"Liza....."

I pulled him in behind me, and I was immediately hit with a frigid wall of air. "Oh, God!" I shook.

"Jesus..... it's freezing in here," Chris shuddered, pulling me towards him.

Leaning against my God-father, I closed my eyes and focused. I could feel him. Elijah was here.

"He's here." I opened my eyes to find a silhouette at the window. "Oh!" I screamed, catching myself. A hand flew to my mouth.

"You see him!"

"Yes!" I nodded, shaking. I stared at the shadow for a few moments. "Elijah?"

Warmth radiated towards me from where he was standing at the window. He was responding to my voice.

"Get the EMF, Mike," Will whispered. Mike whipped it out, clicked it on and it immediately began to go haywire.

"My God...." Mike's jaw dropped.

"Elijah...." I continued. "I'm not going to hurt you. You know who I am, don't you?" I paused then; we had a recorder running to pick up sounds for playback later on. "My name is Elizabeth. Maggie was my great-great-great-grandmother's sister." Another pause. "My friends are not going to hurt you, either."

Elijah turned then, towards the door, and I gasped. "No, wait!" I called out, and to my utter shock, he actually stopped. He seemed sad. "We want to help you. Please. Tell me what we can do for you. How can we help you cross over?"

He turned back to face me then, and his presence filled my mind until all I could feel was what he could feel, all I could see was what he could see. Aunt Maggie's face filled my mind. She was in a field, running and laughing. "William!" she called out, her voice far away. "Goodness, where _is_ that son of ours?"

My heart slammed to a halt inside my chest. Son!

"He sho' does love to hide," Elijah laughed, and I realized then that even though it was Elijah's voice, it was coming from me.

"Uncle Lij! Miz Margaret! Here I am!"

"Oh, there you are, you rascal, you!"

Elijah's "nephew" ran up and Aunt Maggie threw him up into the air with a laugh. He had a grin on his face, and we collapsed onto the grass.

"Here we are," I grinned. "Together."

"A family," Aunt Maggie grinned, kissing my cheek. She hugged little William.

There was a rushing sound as I was immediately pulled from the memory. I heard something then: an unnatural, agonized sound. Someone was sobbing, and I realized then it was me. Collapsing, I felt Elijah standing in front of me. He'd released me back into my world and I couldn't cope.

"Liza! Liza, darling!" Chris fell to his knees next to me, and I looked up at Elijah. I couldn't see his face, but he was standing there, only a foot away, staring down at me. I wasn't scared anymore.

"I'm so sorry," I wept. "Please, tell me he was okay."

Elijah knelt down in front of me and pulled me back into another vision. William is sixteen; he is fleeing north to Canada. He's terrified, cold, and hungry, but he makes it into Vancouver within three months, a record. He is free, safe. He marries another former slave, and they have children, who, in turn, have children of their own. William and his wife live happily in Vancouver for the rest of their days. I was ousted again in another rush.

It was then I heard his voice for the first time since the memory on the day I'd arrived. "I want a reunion. I want to be with Maggie."

I smiled through my tears. "I'll do it," I whispered. "I promise." In seconds, his silhouette faded into the night, and the EMF meter calmed. I shook my head, wiping my face on the backs of my hands. "Chris....." I reached up, he helped me to my feet. "He wants--"

"--his family. He wants to be with Maggie," Chris cut me off, and I gaped at him. "I heard him, too, baby."

"You-- really?"

Chris nodded, smiling.

"Where's Elijah buried? And Maggie, too," I asked Mike, who just shook his head.

"Oh, hon, hell if I know. We'd have to look through the books back at the hotel or ask the receptionist. Someone's bound to know."


	21. Fix You

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 21: Fix You

I led the group back through the fields and to the courtyard, a little less afraid than I had been the first time out there. The hall was empty, so I went into the lobby to find David and Brian playing cards at one of the tables.

"Hey," I called. "You guys seen the rest of the group?"

"Yeah, they're ghost hunting, too," David hooked a thumb over his left shoulder and down the other hall. "Apparently one of the fifth-floor rooms has a lot of activity, as well."

"Who else is with him? Cindy...."

"Cindy-- yeah-- and the other crewman."

"Thanks." I'd reached the front desk at that point. "Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the spirits that reside here, specifically a-a slave named Elijah. Late twenties, he--"

"Oh, yes, the one Margaret Browning was having the affair with. Well, for one thing, did you know they had an illegitimate son together? His name was William."

"Yeah...." I swallowed hard, nodding. "Yeah, I know. Fled to Vancouver when he was sixteen."

"That's right. Anyway, is there anything specifically you'd like to know?"

"I need a burial site for him. A-and for Margaret Browning, as well, please. Is William buried in Vancouver?"

"William is indeed buried in Vancouver, aaaand....." Tanya wracked her memory. "Well..... Margaret, I know for sure, is buried here in New Orleans-- the same cemetery Louis Armstrong is buried in, as a matter of fact-- but Elijah...... now, him, I just don't know." She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Is there anyone that would know? Like, a public record, or something...."

"You can check the major library tomorrow if you like. They open at nine."

"That sounds perfect, thank you. Oh- and one last thing. Did Elijah have a last name?"

"Washington. Elijah Isaac Washington."

"Wha--" I was pleasantly surprised at the fact she knew all that. I smiled. "Thank you."

"Thank that psychic boyfriend of yours," Tanya grinned. "He was the one who told me."

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Leave it to him."

I rejoined the others at the sofas and relayed the information to them, but I was desperate for some water, so I found a fountain just down the first hall, where I could still see my group. The elevator doors dinged as I finished, and Nick rounded the corner with Cindy and the other crewman.

"Nick!" I grinned, reaching out for him, and his whole face lit up as he hurriedly scooped me up into a hug. "You find anything good?"

"Did we!" Nick slid an arm around my shoulder and led me back into the lobby. "Margaret's upstairs in room five-oh-eight, did you know?" He was about to continue when all of a sudden, I stopped in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat.

Nick didn't need to ask. He saw him, too.

Elijah stood in the lobby, peering over an oblivious David's shoulder at his hand. Looking up, Elijah saw us and, without breaking eye contact, he rose and walked out to the courtyard.

"Nick--" I grabbed his hand and sprinted out the back doors in time to watch Elijah disappear into the great oak. "Oh, God. Oh, God...." I clutched at my stomach. "He's here. Nick, he's here..... he's....." I broke into a run again, heading straight for the last place I saw Elijah.

"Liza. Liza! I'm not too sure about this."

Collapsing in front of the giant tree, I buried my hands into the dirt. "Help me." I turned and saw Brian staring at me, confused. "Brian, help me! Somebody, please, just help me!"

Falling down on my right, Brian said not a word as he, too, began digging. Behind me, Chris called back to Michael for lights, and within moments, we could see what we were doing. Cindy got down on her hands and knees on my left and helped.

"Liza, what are we look--"

"Oh, Jesus....." My stomach tied itself into a knot as I hit something hard. I started crying because I didn't have to keep digging to know what I'd find, but I did it anyway. The hole we'd made was nearly to my elbows. Brushing away dirt and rocks and twigs, the skull of an adult male came into view. Brian made a sound next to me, his hand flying to his mouth.

"_Fuck_, man...." David was breathing hard, watching us as we unearthed a full skeleton. Clothing still hung about him, and around his neck was a noose.

"Oh, no, no....." I sobbed, falling back into a sitting position. "Elijah."

We called it a night then, too exhausted (physically and emotionally) to continue. Wrapping Elijah's remains in the same blanket Tanya had gotten me after my attack, we carried him upstairs and kept him in one of the extra drawers in the room Nick and I shared. On the way upstairs, I realized the noose was still in there with him. I gently pulled it off when we got back to the room, cleared the dirt from my arms then went back downstairs and burned the noose in the fireplace. I was still a little uneasy about leaving Elijah in the room with us because I really didn't want to have to deal with any more spirits that night, but fortunately, he was still, and Nick and I were able to get some decent rest.

The next morning I called my father and had him hunt down our family tree. I needed proof that Margaret Rachelle Browning was indeed my relative in order to have her unearthed. When he faxed it to the hotel, I raced down to City Hall to get permission from the judge to take my great-great-great aunt out of the ground.

That only took two hours. I was worn out but I kept running. Next stop: the cemetery. Everyone had caught up to me then; at first it was just me, Mike, Will and Nick, but come the time we arrived at the cemetery, everyone else had caught up. Phil and Cole were so confused, and Chris had to fill them in on the way there. It took an hour to get Maggie from the ground; her box was old and rusted in places, and we got it into the back of the hearse and immediately took it to a funeral home down the road. And that's when I realized I'd forgotten Elijah.

Nick and I hauled ass back to the hotel. He kept the car running out front; I raced upstairs, scooped up the remains and jumped back in the car. We made it in time, fortunately; they were closing soon, and Elijah and Maggie were the last ones for the day. The funeral home wasn't sure what they could do for Elijah, since there was only skeleton, and skeleton tended to be a little more difficult to cremate than flesh, but they promised to have them ready for us by five that evening.

It was three o'clock and we finally were able to slow down enough to breathe. We took a moment in the main room at the funeral home. Collapsing on the sofa next to Nick, I put my head in his lap and buried my face in my arms with a moan. "This is really wearing me out, man."

Nick chuckled, stroking my hair. "Tell me about it."

I rolled over onto my back-- I'd nearly forgotten about the wounds, and I drew in a sharp breath as I got a dull twang of pain-- then adjusted myself so I could look up at Nick.

"We should scatter them in the fields outside the slave quarters."

"That's a great place to do it," Chris agreed from across the coffee table.

"Guys," Brian piped up. "All this ghost stuff and running around town has made me kinda hungry." There were sounds of agreement from everyone. "Let's go eat while we wait for Maggie and Elijah."

We found a nice restaurant nearby and when we were done, we went back to get the remains. They were stored in two separate urns; I carried Maggie's urn in my lap and Chris held on to Elijah's as Nick drove. All the way back to the hotel I couldn't stop thinking about how terrible it must have been for them, for everyone who had to suffer the way Aunt Maggie and Elijah and little William did, the people who saw the evil and error in their social structure. I sincerely hoped that this one small act would help bring even a tiny piece of justice to the whole situation.

The hotel was quiet when we got back, which was unusual for a Sunday afternoon, apparently. Everyone agreed to meet back at the lobby in an hour and a half for Elijah and Maggie's service. I showered quickly, and Nick went in when I was done. The eleven of us met back downstairs at seven and ventured out into the fields. The sun was halfway through setting for the evening, and it was beautiful. Perfect night for a memorial. Most of us dressed in black for the occasion; Nick held onto Elijah's urn and I held Maggie's as the group gathered out before us.

"Okay," I sighed. "Um.... I've never really done anything like this before. I mean....." I chuckled then. "I'm not Catholic, I don't know any prayers or anything like that..... Chris, would you....?"

"I'd be honored, honey," Chris smiled, bowing his head. We all followed suit, and Chris cleared his throat. "Almighty God, You love everything You have made and judge us with infinite mercy and justice. We rejoice in Your promises of pardon, joy and peace to all those who love you. In Your mercy, turn the darkness of death into the dawn of new life, and the sorrow of parting into the joy of heaven; through our Savior Jesus Christ, who died, rose again, and lives forevermore. May you keep Elijah Isaac Washington and Margaret Rachelle Browning in Your Kingdom forever. Amen."

"Amen," the group echoed.

"You ready?" I asked Nick.

"When you are, love."

I nodded. Releasing the top to Maggie's urn, I watched the ashes take to the air; Nick was close behind, opening up Elijah's urn, and as the last pieces fell and danced on the wind, we set down the empty canisters. Tears sprung to my eyes then, and I wiped at them with the back of my hand; Nick, seeing this, wrapped his arms around me. I slid my arms around his waist as we watched Maggie and Elijah drift away with the wind.

----------

MUSIC:

This chapter was inspired by two separate songs. The scene in which they discover Elijah's remains underneath the oak was inspired by the song "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. The song is about grief, heartbreak and betrayal, which is what Elijah and Maggie went through at the hands of Maggie's husband, Paul Browning. Liza is overcome by the "unfairness," the grief, of the situation, of finding Elijah's remains.

The double-memorial service was partially inspired by the song "Fix You," by Coldplay, which is what I ended up naming this chapter. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking song, and the ending is explosive; I kept hearing it over and over when I wrote the memorial service scene.


	22. Haunted

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 22: Haunted

We filmed the makeshift funeral for the show, and it was on the way back to the hotel that I really started to think. Maggie and Elijah may have just been released, but the spirit of Paul Browning was still running rampant through the place. I didn't like it, and when we got into the lobby, I pulled Chris aside and shared my concerns with him.

"It frightens me, Chris. I mean, think about it-- now that Elijah and Maggie are gone, he's probably really pissed he can't take shit out on them anymore, and what happened to me the other night will happen to someone else ten-fold. We've got to do something. Get rid of him, just--"

"Liza. Liza..." Chris stopped me. "Think about what you're saying. I agree with you, I fear for the rest of the guests, but you're talking about rituals even I try to avoid. Because they're just so dangerous. I've heard of possessions, priests needing to be called in... everything."

"What else do you recommend?" I asked, fiercely defending my side. "How else do we get rid of him? We _need_ to call him out!"

"I am not risking the life of anyone in this group! It is _too dangerous!_"

"Well, then, I'll get the others to help me. Nick, Cindy..."

"Nick will not agree to this. I know him."

"Yeah, but knowing how stubborn I am, I'm sure he'd show up anyway, just to make sure, you know?" My god-father began to protest. "Chris-- I'm going through with it. You can join us or go about your business. Either way, we're getting rid of him. Tonight."

I talked to the rest of the group, and as terrified as they all were by the prospect, everyone agreed: something needed to be done. Chris was not happy about any of it, but after seeing the rest of the group accept, he reluctantly added himself to the roster, standing in for spiritual guidance.

"Paul Browning, show yourself. I am calling you out."

I stood in the middle of the courtyard, with my back to the fountain and the rest of my friends and the crew, and I waited. Truth be told, I was terrified. Determined, yet terrified. A light breeze flowed through the trees, making the leaves rustle, but he continued to hide.

"I know you're still there, Browning."

Silence.

"You came out without being asked to beat me, and now that we want to talk to you, you're just going to hide? What, are you a coward or something?" The last words had barely escaped my mouth when the breeze changed. There was an audible groan coming up with the winds, and they picked up speed.

"Come on, Browning. Show yourself!"

I was knocked off my feet in an instant. Toppling backwards, I managed to catch my balance on the edge of the fountain.

"Liza!" Nick bolted for me, but Cindy grabbed his arm.

"She knows what she's doing," she told him.

"I'm fine," I called back over my shoulder, dusting myself off. "I'm okay. It's like I said, he doesn't want to come out now to face up to us." I turned back around as the temperature dropped. In seconds, what had started as a warm evening turned into a frigid night.

"God..." I shuddered. "He's here."

"I know," Chris' voice reached my ears.

"I... I can _feel_ him... pulling me down...." I raised my voice. "Paul Browning, I am calling you out and asking you to leave. I will not let you pull me down. You have caused too much damage and heartache to everyone around you." The wind and the noises grew, but I didn't stop. "You killed your wife and probably dozens of slaves, and you beat the hell out of me. Now, you get your ass out here and show yourself!"

A hollow, far-off yell bellowed across the courtyard, and I was knocked off my feet yet once again, only this time, I wasn't able to catch myself. I landed on my back, crying out.

"No!" I could hear Nick behind me, grabbing onto my arm.

The feeling started deep inside my chest; it blindsided me and made me gasp. It was as if I was being pushed away-- from the inside. It was as if I was being pushed _out_. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I knew that, whatever it was, it couldn't be good. I howled, fighting and writhing against it as best I could, even though I had no idea how to fight something I didn't understand. Cindy was on my right, grabbing onto my other arm.

"Oh, God, it-- it's him!" I screamed, clawing at my chest, as if that would help any. "I can smell him, I can feel his heart _pounding_ inside my head. Help me!"

Chris was on his knees in front of me. "Liza!" he shouted. "Listen to me. You fight him, do you understand? You fight him with every ounce of strength you have. Keep him out!"

Behind me, I could hear Michael swearing. "He has her!"

"Chris! For God's sake, do something!"

"Browning!" My God-father leaped to his feet, practically having to yell over the winds and the shouting. "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command that you leave! Now!"

His words began to fade and come in again, and before he was done, I was gone. I was in the trees above the group, screaming with everything I had, and yet no one turned to help me. But it was what I saw in the middle of the group that terrified me the most.

It was me.

My body writhed furiously under Nick and Cindy's hold, howling and screaming bloody murder. Michael had to hold my feet down, and I watched, horrified, as a foot slipped free and hit him squarely across the face.

"Chris!" I screamed down to them, starting to cry as I understood what was happening. "Please, don't let him take me!"

"Aaw..." my body spoke with someone else's voice, and the fighting died down slightly. Even my face was different-- distorted-- as my body glared at Chris. "She's crying. 'Help me, Chris, help me!'" Throwing back my head, my body howled in laughter.

"_Nooo!_" My soul was desperately clawing its way in, but Browning wouldn't let me back. He continued to laugh and fight.

"You can fight all you want, little girl. I had you once and this time, you're mine."

"Hold her!" Nick and Cindy tightened their grip on my arms, and Michael did the same to my feet as my body continued to writhe, screaming and spitting, but Chris didn't stop. He put a hand to my forehead. "Lord God, hear our prayer. Protect this child, Elizabeth Danielle Leroux, from all evil. Strangers are attacking her, ruthless men seek her life-- men without regard for God. Surely God is our help, the Lord is the one who sustains us. Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness, destroy them--"

"_The whore is mine!_"

"--for He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. We cast the spirit of Paul Browning out and back into hell. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: begone, spirit!"

There was a scream, but it was none of us. I felt myself begin to fall, fade, tumble.... I couldn't balance. All of a sudden, I could feel pressure on my arms and legs. The stones of the walkway and the fountain pressed into the wounds in my back, stinging. I screamed.

"Let me go! Chris!"

"Liza?"

"Yes!" I wept. "It's me!"

My God-father yanked me into his arms, holding me tight. Nick collapsed against the fountain, shaking, and when I felt the electricity in the air, I knew we weren't finished.

"He's still here, Chris," Nick told him.

"I can feel him, too," I nodded, panting from the whole ordeal. We sat and listened and waited, and, with a scream, we felt him disappear completely.

No one could speak for a moment, we were all in shock. "Is that.... is that it?" I was stunned.

Nick nodded. "I think so, love."

"Oh, thank God," I sighed, smiling as I collapsed back into my God-father's arms. He put his arms around me and I could have sworn I heard him crying. "He's gone."

----------

MUSIC:

Believe it or not, this was the last scene I wrote for the story. I'd written essentially about 98% of the story in order (went back later to add the scenes from Liza's childhood camping on Catalina, as well as the backstory with Frank, later on). But I went through the entire story, wrote it all, and was on my way to work about two or three days after completing the story when the song "Haunted" by Evanesence came up on a mix CD I had in my player in my car, and this whole scene immediately popped into my head. I gasped and thought, "Now, THAT would be brilliant!" So when I got to work, I whipped out my laptop and started typing. It only took an hour in the end! I even pulled lines from the song to put directly into the scene-- "I can feel you pull me down;" "…your heart pounding in my head," "I can smell you-- alive," "I know you're still there!"


	23. Tender

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 23: Tender

The next day was Tuesday. It was the last day of shooting, and after the events of the day before, I was so wiped out I had the rest of the group go on without me. Come Wednesday, we were all so excited to get home, it was all we could do to keep from bolting to the airport for our flight back to Seattle. We said goodbye to the crew and to Cindy; numbers were exchanged and I told her that if she were ever in Seattle, she should stop by for a visit.

Life slowed down then, once we got home. Brian and I moved into our new apartment about two weeks after we got back; we'd signed a six month lease, the smallest available. It was cozy, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and a huge living room. I knew that, even though I'd just graduated, school was still in my imminent future-- at the same time, I refused to start straightaway. I was going to study psychology for a few years, looking into becoming a psychologist for child mediums. But first, I needed a break, so I took a year. By the time we moved into our new apartment, the wounds on my back were being slowly replaced by pink scars. They rarely, if ever, hurt anymore.

Summer ended, fall came and went, and eventually, winter reared its frigid head as the sleet-like rains and icy roads slowly took over the city. December was upon us, and with it came the last month of our lease, rabid shoppers, sales, packed shopping malls, and Jingle Bells on every radio station. Oh, and Christmas, too. The weather outside truly was frightful, but not nearly as frightful as the woman who frantically pried the last carton of eggnog out of Brian's hands as he stocked up for a Christmas gathering at our place.

Eddie, Amanda and our parents all flew in on the twentieth and stayed through the third of the month. I had originally wanted to go home for the holidays and bring Nick with me, but, as I was planning on spending a month with them over the following summer, I agreed to let them come see me this visit. Eddie was enrolled in a college in Boston where he majored in architecture; it had been his passion since he'd been in his mid-teens. For his final project that year, he was instructed to lay down the blueprint for three separate houses. Amanda, having dated the same boy for five years, brought her beau, Ian, with her, a kid (I _say _kid....) about my age that had graduated from Harvard Business School a year early, leaving Amanda to finish her last two years on her own.

Nick insisted we have Christmas at his house. I told him we could just as easily have it at my apartment, as I had the place to myself (Brian was back home in Chicago to celebrate with his family), but he won the argument with the artfully-made piece of evidence that I lacked a fireplace, so it was instantaneously settled. Brian left on the twenty-first of the month, and, since the place was a bit dreary and lonely without someone else there, I went and stayed with Nick after one night alone.

Dinner on Christmas Eve would have made Twiggy look like a Zeppelin come the end of the evening. My family came over to Nick's house at about noon; at that point, the two of us had been cooking for two of the three hours we'd already been up, and my family pitched in and started to help. Sometimes half the fun of having a meal with the ones you love comes from actually making it together. We finally ate at about six that night, and after cleaning up and lounging around the house, fighting off the inevitable food coma we could feel coming to hit us like a ton of bricks, my family went back to their hotel and agreed to come back by at about ten thirty the next morning for the eating of a late breakfast and the unwrapping of a pile of gifts.

The fire was still burning in the fireplace when the festivities had died down, and it was just me and Nick. We were leaning back against the coffee table and right in front of the flames, catching the last few pieces of warmth as they escaped. I curled up against him, trying to stay warm, as I get so cold so easily, and he put his arms around me.

"It's the perfect Christmas," Nick said with a sigh, hugging me close as we laughed about the night's events.

"And to think it's not even the actual day yet," I smiled, making him chuckle as I leaned my head against his chest. He kissed my forehead. "You know what would be nice?" I asked.

"What's that?"

"Well, it's just this idea I've been toying with. I mean, I don't make near enough to actually do this sort of thing, but one can dream, right?"

"Of course," Nick chuckled. "What exactly is that dream, then?"

"A bed and breakfast all my own."

Nick sat up a little bit to look at me. "I really like that idea."

"Really?"  He nodded honestly. "Tell me more about it. What have you been thinking?"

"Well...." I started. "When I was a little girl, my family and I used to go once a year to Catalina Island. It's- it's this little island about twenty-something miles off the coast of Southern California, right across from Los Angeles, and people actually live there and stuff, like, year round, but there are only about three and a half thousand residents..... anyway, we went there all the time to go camping and biking and so on, and I think it would be a great place to start up a bed and breakfast. There's so much room out there..... fields that go on forever, with wild bison and foxes running around everywhere.... it's beautiful."

"It sounds lovely. You know, if you want to do it, you should go for it. I mean, we're not tied down here."

"But..... Nick, well, your job! Teaching, you.... you can't just give up teaching like that!"

"Who said I wouldn't be interested, hmm? In giving it up?" He gently kissed my forehead. "I love my job, yes, but I don't have to do this forever. It wouldn't _kill_ me to go on an adventure, you know."

"Mmm," I smiled. "'Tis better to have lived and lost than to never have lived at all, I suppose."

Nick laughed, tilting my chin up to kiss me fully on the lips. "Exactly."

Grinning, I hugged him to me. "Hey, I'm going in for another drink," I piped up a moment later. "Do you want one, too?"

"That'd be great, thanks."

"Okay. Be right back." I got up on my hands and knees, ready to leap to my feet, when Nick grabbed my wrist.

"Wait......" He looked at me for a long moment, then smiled.

"What? Are you okay?"

Nick brushed away the piece of my hair that had fallen loose. "I'm fine." He kissed me then, and I giggled.

"What's gotten into you, huh? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I love you. _That's_ what's gotten into me."

I could feel my innards turn to Jell-O as I put my arms around him, collapsed into his lap and kissed him. "I love you, too, Nick. I love you very much."

He smiled at me. "Go get those drinks. I won't go anywhere."

Grinning, I bounded off to the kitchen, thankful for the greatest Christmas present ever. I pulled two beers from the fridge, popped the tops and made my way back to my spot next to Nick, passing him a drink as I sat back down with mine. It was then I realized I was sitting on something. "Oh!"

Nick was about to take a drink. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I-- it seems as if I've sat on something. Hang on." I set down my beer on the table behind me and reached down, eventually finding what it was I'd landed on. Bringing it back up, I started shaking when I saw what it was: a small black box.

I turned to Nick, gaping at him. A little smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Open it," he murmured, his warm, deep voice sending me shivers.

My heart was slamming so hard in my chest, I was certain I was going into cardiac arrest. Slowly opening the little velvet box, I let out a cry when I saw the dazzling diamond ring inside. My hand flew to my mouth. "Oh, God! Nick! It's--"

"Elizabeth......" Nick took my hand and crawled around to sit in front of me. "Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

I was shaking so much, I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd passed out right then. "Oh, Nick, Nick....." I was tripping over everything, and so I kissed him then. That seemed to get my speaking skills back in order.

"So, is that.....?" he laughed.  "Yes, yes, Nick, that's a yes," I cried, throwing my arms around his neck as the tears started to flow.

I think that was the happiest I'd seen him. I think it was the happiest _I'd_ been, too. We were grinning like mad as he took the ring from the little box and slid it onto my finger. It fit perfectly and it looked amazing. He kissed my hand and I looked up at him, beaming, tears falling to my lap. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Liza."

Yeah... it really was the greatest Christmas ever.

----------

MUSIC:

The song "Tender" by Blur is incredibly sweet. The perfect song to which Nick proposes....


	24. Little Bitty Pretty One

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 24: Little Bitty Pretty One

I woke up to sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window; it was eight o'clock in the morning and my family would be arriving soon. Stretching, I rolled over to find the bed empty, but before I could puzzle over it any, I realized I heard the shower running. It shut off within moments, and so I leaped out of bed, gathered my clothes and bounded in when Nick emerged. "Whoa-- good morning," Nick laughed.

Giggling, I rushed back, reached up and kissed his lips. "Mmm.... Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

"And a happy Christmas to you, too."

"You go get the food ready, I'll be right behind you."

I was out in minutes, and as I towel dried my hair, I went into the kitchen to see Nick had started making breakfast. "Alright, baby-- let's do this!" I hit the radio and immediately found Bobby Day. It was as if it was meant to be. I danced around the kitchen, gathering the ingredients for the pancakes. I don't think either of us had ever had that much fun making food. We weren't even half way through and already, my face was streaked with flour, and Nick had the stuff all over his old t-shirt. He flipped another pancake into the air and caught it perfectly, and that's when the front door opened.

"Hello?"

"Mom!" I laughed. "In here-- aah! Oh, Nick, be careful! C'mon, don't _drop_ the thing!"

"Wha...." My mother started laughing, too, at the sight of the two of us covered in flour and eggs, and grinning like crazy. Eddie was right behind her, giggling, and he whipped out her camera. "Strike a pose, kiddies!" He snapped a photo and I howled at the sight of it. It was perfect: we were an absolute mess and absolutely happy as Nick and I hugged each other.

Finishing the preparation process, Nick went into the other room to change shirts, but before doing so, he grinned at me. "Do you want to tell them?"

"Shouldn't I wait for you?"

"Go ahead, I'll be less than a moment." Nick winked at me and made for the bathroom. Blushing, I turned to the sink and splashed water over my face.

"Liza?" My mom cocked her head at me in confusion. "What is he talking about? Tell us what?"

I grabbed the towel from the counter, drying my face, and before I could answer, Amanda started choking on her orange juice, frantically pointing for my left hand. "Oh!" She shrieked. "She's wearing a ring! Mom, Liza's wearing a ring!"

"What?!" My father's eyes were huge. "You're kidding me!"

Grinning, I pulled the towel from my hand, exposing the band of silver and the diamond. "Amanda's right, Dad-- I'm wearing a ring!" I cried, and my sister was on her feet in an instant, squealing in delight.

"Yeah, go sis!" Eddie cheered.

"Oh, God, Liza!" My parents were beaming as my mother hugged me. "Oh, my little girl.... Did he ask you this morning?"

"Mmm," I shook my head as I helped myself to the blackberries on the table. "Last night."

"Oh, sis, it's gorgeous!" Amanda fawned over my hand, and that's when Nick came back in wearing a long-sleeve navy shirt and jeans. He leaned on the counter, watching the commotion with a bemused smile on his face. Amanda saw him and bounded over to give him a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked!"

"Well...." Nick laughed. "I'm rather excited about it, myself, thank you....."

"Nick...." My father shook his hand and gave a shrug. "Welcome to the family, eh?"

"Thank you, Owen."

We sat down to eat and I swear, it was the best breakfast I'd ever had.

The wedding-- if that's not too grand a word for the fifty-person, tiny little ceremony we'd be having-- was set for March fifth, just short of a month after my birthday; I wanted enough time to move my things out of the apartment and into Nick's house. Fortunately for Brian, Cole quickly filled my spot in the little place. Neither of us wanted anything ridiculously fancy; I ended up wearing a floor-length, swishy cotton white dress that tied around the back of my neck (and made my boobs look _fabulous_, might I add). Either way, we danced the night away because my family knows how to _party_. We hired a big band to come in and play a bunch of the hits, and Glenn Miller's 'In the Mood' was a huge one for us, as well as 'Moonlight Serenade.' But come the end of the evening, David, Brian, Phil, Cole and I were jamming at the dinner party after the ceremony. It must have looked quite odd to see a bride as the lead guitarist to a well-dressed rock band. Naturally, we did a cover of ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man."

Our first night as a married couple was spent at home, exactly where we wanted to be before embarking on our honeymoon. We stayed up late into the night, making things official. I was so relieved not to have been bothered by spirits all week; it's as if they knew how stressed I'd been and decided to let me be for awhile.

The honeymoon vacation was exactly what the doctor ordered: ten days of surf and sand at a Caribbean resort. While Seattle was being pummeled by the worst rains and winds they'd seen in decades, Nick and I sat sipping Pina Coladas on the beach beneath a clear blue sky. We got home a little tanner, which made us easy visual targets amongst the residents of America's rainiest city. And after two months, I still had difficulty remembering to sign my name Liza Hardaway instead of Liza Leroux. We came home refreshed and relaxed, with our name on the door and everything in its place. Nick and I went back to work: me, to the bed and breakfast and Nick, to teaching at the University. We settled back in to a normal life and normal spirits and normal jobs.

Life was freaking good, man.

You'd be surprised at how fast a year can go by. It may seem like a long time-- because comparatively, it isn't-- but if you're not careful, it will zip by in a cloud of dust, making you wonder if it really happened in the first place. Memories, the only thing you retain and can fully cling to outside of the ones you love, make it all real.

I was promoted to manager of the bed and breakfast three months after we got married. I was second only to the owner herself, and she trusted the life of her business in my hands. It was a humbling responsibility, as we'd gained much popularity in the past few years, and I learned so much from Diane, my boss. I shared with her my dream of one day having my own bed and breakfast, and she never ceased to feed that dream.

Nick continued to teach World History at the university, and was promoted to department head in no time. With the money coming in we were able to go to London for two weeks and visit Nick's family. It wasn't the first time I'd met his parents, who lived just outside the city, but I'd not yet met his sister, Evelyn; she lived downtown with her husband. They had two kids-- David was twenty-seven and Kara was twenty-two-- and it was a slightly jarring experience for them to discover that Uncle Nick's new wife could have gone to school with them. David, laughing, asked me one day, "This doesn't mean we're going to have to call you Aunt Liza, does it?" I laughed, too, and told him absolutely not. He and Kara even gave me a tour of London one day. I got on very well with the entire family, and was sad to have to come back home to the daily grind.

But sometimes it was the little things that really got me. For some reason, the memory of us taking part in our street's Fourth of July block party four months after we married glued itself into my endorphin banks as one of the happiest memories I have. Nick worked the grill as I helped the neighborhood kids light their sparklers, and before that, we helped set up the slip-n-slide up and down the street. Our resourceful neighbor next door designed it out of foam, thick plastic wrap, Vaseline, duct tape and garden hose. That night, there was to be a fireworks show at the end of our street, where the greenbelt was located. I found us a lovely spot as Nick ran home to get the fleece blanket off the sofa in the living room. When he came back, he had the blanket over his shoulder and a grin on his face. He kissed me before putting it down, and then we watched the fireworks ignite the sky as a band played the 1812 Overture, Stars and Stripes, and other patriotic songs. Nick pulled me against him in a hug, kissed my forehead and told me he was the luckiest man in the world.

Sometimes, when this world gets to be a bit too much, I close my eyes, go back to that greenbelt, lie back on that grass with him, and tell myself, "Everything will be okay."

----------

MUSIC:

This chapter was named after the song of the same name by Bobby Day. I was inspired by the scene from the movie Matilda; even though this wasn't the song she was making pancakes to (THAT song was "Send Me On My Way," by Rusted Root), Little Bitty Pretty One was indeed featured later in the film as Matilda dances her way around the living room. For some reason, I mash the two, and there you have it. :) LBPO is also the song Liza finds on the radio while they're cooking. Super cute and cheesy, I know. :P

Nick and Liza's first dance at their wedding is to the song "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. This will be referenced to later on in the story. :)


	25. The One to Tell You

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 25: The One to Tell You

One morning, two months after celebrating our one year anniversary, the phone jarred me from a very deep sleep. I checked the clock. Eight thirty. _Ugh, _I groaned inwardly. _My one late day and I can't catch a break._ I had the bed to myself, as Nick had gone in early to start preparing for final exams for his students. It was early May and the university was preparing to let out its students for the summer.

"Hello?"

"Liza! Hi! Ooh-- Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you, sweetie?"

"Mmm," I rubbed my eyes and then shook my head back onto its feet. "Dr. Reardon. Don't worry 'bout it. Probably needed to get up anyway. How're you? What's up?"

"Fine, thanks. Listen, I was wondering if you had a second, I think I may have a proposition for you and Nick."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Memorial day weekend is coming up in about three weeks, and I-I'm getting together--- through Steven Rimbauer's permission, of course-- a group to go into Rose Red to do some studying. I was wondering if the two of you would like to be a part of the team."

"Wait, wait, wait-- oh, Doc, you can't be serious. Rose Red, it-- I mean, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely. Now, we'd be spending only two nights in the house. Friday and Saturday night and then we're outa there. I'm giving everyone five grand just for going in."

"Um...." I gulped. "Well.... let me talk to Nick about it tonight when he comes home. I wouldn't want to speak on his behalf, only to be wrong."

"Fair enough. Just be sure to get back to me by the weekend, okay?"

"You bet. Take care."

"See you."

I hung up, collapsing back into bed with a groan. "Great. I guess you can only go so long, being a psychic living in Seattle, without having to actually go in to that damned house." Nick arrived home at six, and by that time, I was already long gone to work. I didn't get home until eight, and when I walked in the door, he had dinner ready.

"Hello, sweetheart. And how was the bed and breakfast business today?" Nick came over to give me a kiss.

I sighed, exhausted, but smiled. "Stimulating."

"Good," Nick chuckled. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished, yes." We sat at the table to eat and that's when I brought up the conversation I'd had that morning with Dr. Reardon. "Listen, Joyce called this morning. Apparently she's getting a group together to go into Rose Red, and she wants to know if we'd be interested. She's offering ten thousand dollars if we do it-- five for me, five for you....." I rested my chin in my hand. "I _could_ use the money to go back to school. You know I've always been wanting to go in to psychology."

"You'd make a great psychologist, there's no doubt about that....." he smiled. "And yes, she found me in the halls today at work and spoke to me about it. The house frightens me, I'll give you that, but.... Do you really want to go?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I think I do."

"Alright, then. Let's call Joyce tomorrow and tell her."

First thing the next morning, I was on the phone with Joyce and it was settled. There was a meeting two weeks away at Windsor Hall at the university, set for six o'clock the Monday before the excursion into Rose Red. I marked it off on the calendar on the wall and went to work.

Naturally, Chris was on the phone the next day, and he wasn't happy. "Elizabeth, I swear to God, what are you thinking? What are either of you thinking?"

"Oh, Chris, come on. I feel up to this. I feel like I can handle whatever that house throws at me. And besides, Joyce says it's a dead cell."

"Rose Red is _not_ a dead cell, Liza. The only reason paranormal activity no longer takes place within its walls is because no one's been inside for ten years. Without food, you'd starve, too." He sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. And Nick should know better than to have agreed to this in the first place, too."

"Hey, now, come off it," I defended my husband. "He wanted to go, too."

"You-- You're _not_ going in."

"Yeah? According to whom, might I ask? Did my _parents_ ask you to call?"

"For God's sake, Elizabeth, I am your God-father! They wouldn't be the only ones concerned here. And no, they have no idea about this. That is, unless you've told them, which I doubt you have, or else it would be them you'd be on the phone with right now."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Chris."

"Say you won't do it. Tell me you and Nick will stay home."

"No."

"Then I'm sorry. When Monday morning comes and you're out of that damned house, I will hate to be the one to have to tell you, 'I told you so.'"


	26. Group Meeting

***And here we have it-- we are now delving into the events that took place in the film. :) You'll basically be reading exactly as the film happened-- I took lines straight from the film, but it won't be boring..…. :)  
***Rose Red and the characters therein (minus Liza, of course) belong to Stephen King. Gotta give credit where it needs to be given!

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 26: Group Meeting

The two weeks flowed by a bit faster than I would have liked; when the day finally rolled around for us to meet with Joyce and the rest of the group, I felt like something wasn't right. I ignored it, though, because it'd been a really good weekend and I was still on a high from the barbecue cookout our neighbor had thrown the day before.

Nick and I took separate cars in to the meeting, as he and I had both come in straight from work. The both of us had packed a bag for the weekend before going in to work. It had been an unusually warm day for Seattle; I was in a spaghetti-strap top and a flowy skirt that came down just past my knees. I got to the meeting at five forty-five to find the group in the lecture hall, chatting quietly. Nick was talking to Steven Rimbauer up front; a young, somewhat overweight man in a vest and glasses stood off to the side, sulking. There was a young woman in her thirties with a willowy figure and dark blonde hair pulled back in a bun; an older woman with chin-length gray hair and glasses, who looked to be in her fifties or so; and another man, about sixty-five, in a brown suit and tie. The older woman was talking to Joyce.

"Joyce?"

"Liza!" Her whole face lit up and she gave me a hug. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you came. When I saw Nick arrive without you, I got worried!"

"Don't worry about me," I laughed. "I am one hundred percent on board with this."

Behind me, I heard someone scoff. "God, who's the freak with all the scars?"

I turned around, horror-struck, to find the overweight young man in the vest gaping at my leg, my back and my face. The older woman Joyce had been talking to gasped, and Steven's jaw hit the floor. Nick was on him in a second, grabbing him by the collar.

"That _woman_, Emery, is my _wife_," Nick growled. "And it would do you well to remember never to make a comment like that again while I'm within earshot. How are we on understanding all of this?"

"Jesus, buddy, yeah," Emery shook Nick off of him, scowling. "Get off of me!"

"Emery," Joyce narrowed her eyes at him, but I had a hard time stifling a grin as Joyce continued. "Come on, now, everyone. I don't want to get this group off on the wrong foot! Let's all find a seat, shall we?"

Nick came up to me, pulling me towards him in a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, that you had to hear that." He kissed my cheek.

"My knight in shimmerin' armor," I let the grin out at last. "I'm fine, although I can say with some certainty that if I have to spend a weekend in the same house as that man, the end will come all too soon."

Nick laughed, and we went over to find seats with the others. "I think that may be the consensus of the group, as well, I'm afraid. And he's only been here for fifteen minutes!"

We sat down and everyone went around and introduced themselves. The young willowy woman was Pam Asbury, the older woman with glasses was Cathy Kramer, the older man in the suit was Vic Kandinsky, and the one with the nasty comments was Emery Waterman. Joyce dimmed the lights and the screen rolled down.

"Alright, kids. Rose Red." She hit a button on the remote in her hand and the first photo flashed across the screen: a picture of the Rimbauer estate.

"Wow," Cathy made a noise a few rows ahead of us. "I knew it was big, but that's enormous!"

"There have been no overt manifestations in Rose Red since nineteen ninety-five," Joyce informed us. "Since then, it has remained one enormous dead cell. Rose Red was built in 1906 at the top of Spring Street, in the center of Seattle, by John P. Rimbauer. It was a wedding gift for his wife." She clicked it to a new picture, one of Ellen and John. "John was the founder of Omicron Oil, the biggest oil company in America until nineteen fifty, which is the year his wife Ellen disappeared.

"Early on in the construction of the house, there were problems. A teamster by the name of Harry Korbin shot another worker, walked all the way down to the pub for a drink, and that's where the cops got to him. He remembers nothing from the time he went to work that day to the moment he woke up in the jail cell with a knot above his ear. The judge gave him twenty-five years. Many consider the man he shot Rose Red's first victim. There's always been a difference between the way Rose Red treats the men and the ladies."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"All in good time, Nick," Joyce smiled. She clicked to the next photo: Ellen and John's wedding. "November twelfth, nineteen-oh-seven, was the day John married his wife, Ellen. He was forty, and she was twenty."

Next to me, Nick chuckled quietly, and I felt his hand slide into mine. He leaned over. "Reminds me of someone we may know," he whispered, kissing my neck and making me stifle the giggle that tried to escape. I could feel my whole face flush.

"Rose Red had been under construction for a year by the time they wed, and already there were three deaths: a foreman was decapitated by a sheet of falling glass; a builder fell and broke his neck; and a carpenter choked on an apple during his lunch break.

"This is how the house looked when it was completed in nineteen-oh-nine," Joyce indicated the old, black and white photograph up on the screen before going on to the next one. "And this is how it looks today." The difference was stark: the first photograph showed a very large mansion, and the second, more recent photograph showed a monstrosity ten times the size of the first.

"My God, it-- it's like it metastasized," Pam said, awestruck.

"How many rooms are there?" Vic piped up.

"No one knows," Steven called from the front row. "One day you could go in there and count ninety-seven, the next day you could come back and find eighty-three. It changes all the time."

"How many have disappeared all together?" Nick asked. "Surely you have an accurate account of that."

"Twenty-three since the first World War," Joyce answered. "Five men and eighteen women. Rose Red has always been particularly fond of the ladies." It looked as if I wasn't the only one squirming in my seat: Pam fidgeted with her purse, and Cathy threw her an uneasy glance.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Joyce reassured us. "Remember, this is a dormant house, folks, okay?"

"When was the last disappearance?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Joyce mentioned the need to continue, but Steve interrupted her. "Nineteen seventy-two," he told me, and, with a sigh, Joyce continued for him. "A woman from the historical society got separated from the group. All that was found of her was her purse."

"What was her name?" Pam asked.

"Liza Albert."

"Oh, God." If I thought I was fidgety before, now I felt really uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat and Nick put a steady arm around me.

"There, now, love....."

"Oh...." Joyce realized what she'd said. "Liza, honey, don't let it get to you. Remember, it's only a name!" She smiled kindly at me, and I nodded, trying to return the smile.

"After that," Joyce continued. "The tours ended. The house became a dead cell when it had no more minds to feed on."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Nick murmured next to me. His arm was still draped across my shoulders.

"John and Ellen went on a year-long honeymoon. When they were in Africa, Ellen fell ill and nearly died."

"Was it malaria?" Vic asked Joyce.

"Well," Joyce started. "In her diary, Ellen called it an 'unmentionable disease, carried by men and suffered by women.' They arrived home to Rose Red on January fifteenth, nineteen-oh-nine, and Ellen was pregnant soon thereafter. What makes Rose Red one of the most interesting paranormal artifacts is that it continued to grow until its 'death' in nineteen ninety-five or ninety-six. Changes were made to the house until nineteen fifty, and after nineteen fifty, Rose Red grew on its own.

"In September of nineteen-oh-nine, Ellen gave birth to a son. In her diary, she stated, 'I have named him Adam, for he is the first.'"

"Grampy," Steve called from the front.

"You-- your grandfather, Steve?" Pam smiled. "Really?"

"I'm afraid so, yes."

Joyce continued. "Sukeena, the woman who took care of Ellen in Africa and came home with them, stayed with Ellen throughout the entire delivery. Ellen never referred to her as 'servant;' first it was 'friend,' and then, eventually, 'sister.' Two years later, Ellen gave birth to a baby girl with a withered arm. She blamed her African sickness and her husband's sexual appetites. 'In my mind,' Ellen wrote, 'they are one,' to which she added, 'Damn all men.' Their daughter was born in April of nineteen eleven, and so April was what they named her.

"Ellen's fevers came back, and she became fearful they would take her at a young age. In August of nineteen fourteen, she brought in Madame Stravinsky. Sukeena was sure she was a fraud, but Ellen wouldn't hear of it. Turns out, Sukeena was right. Madame Stravinsky was known to local police as Cora Frye. Stravinsky, during a reading, told Ellen that Rose Red wasn't finished-- 'Not 'till you _say_ it's finished.' And Ellen, taking her seriously, never had another fever."

"Probably just psychosomatic in the first place," Emery grumbled.

"Yeah, probably just PMS, right, Em?" Steve had a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Huh," Emery scoffed. "I wouldn't be at all surprised."

"The first wing went up the next week," Joyce informed us. "When conventional things ran out, she built unconventional stuff-- for example, the tower folly, which was completed in nineteen twenty-one. John jumped to his death from it two years later."

"Was it suicide?" Nick asked. "Or did he run into something he couldn't deal with?"

"The certificate said accidental death...."

"Gossip said suicide or ghosts," Steve added.

"In Rose Red, men have a habit of ending up dead and women end up missing."

"Oh...." Pam fidgeted, glancing at Cathy next to her. "I'm not sure, then, that five thousand's enough."

"Are you sure the bad days are over?" Vic asked Joyce.

"Positive."

"Then what is it you want from us, exactly?" I asked her.

Joyce brought up the lights and retracted the screen, and for a moment, she didn't say anything, gathering her thoughts. "This field can be a hard one, as you all know. People can be..... overly-cruel."

Next to me, Nick made a sound, and I looked at him and could tell he could see something I couldn't. I made it a point to ask him about it later. Joyce fell silent then, lost in a memory, and Steve's question brought her back.

"Research goals....?"

"O-oh. Yes. Specifically, measurable psychic phenomena. Hard data, essentially."

"If Rose Red is a dead cell," Cathy started. "How much proof do you expect to find there?"

"When electricity is applied to the leg of a dead frog, it will twitch and move, even hours after death. You all are my psychic equivalent to electricity. All I look for is one single twitch."

"And in two months, the house comes down. Condominiums to the future...." Steve added.

"You're gonna destroy the house?" Cathy was surprised. "But it's history!"

"Yeah, well, history don't pay no rent, and the kid is broke."

"Hardly the noblest of motives," Emery sulked.

"So are we the whole team?" Cathy asked.

"She hopes not......" Nick answered quietly.

"I was hoping for one more," Joyce sighed, leaning on the podium. "But it's beginning to look doubtful. If I have to make do with you six-- and you, too, Steve--" she smiled. "Then I will count myself very lucky. So! We meet here, outside, on Friday at two sharp. It will be a Memorial Day weekend to remember! Now.... if you could all come over...... I'd like to end this meeting with a prayer circle." Emery made a snide comment as we all gathered around, although he joined us anyway.

"Is there anything you'd like us to focus on, Joyce?" I asked.

"Oh.... goodwill. Good thoughts. Each other." She smiled.

"Oh, that's lovely!" Cathy grinned.

We were gathered around, hand in hand, when there was a voice from the back of the lecture hall. "Say cheese!" A flash went off as we all turned to find a young man in the back of the hall with a camera in hand and a grin on his face. The young man made a speedy exit as Joyce glowered after him.

"Bollinger," she spat. "Oh, that little shit."

"Who is he?" Vic asked.

"A journalism student at the university. Kevin Bollinger. He crashed one of my classes last week, prying for information on our little 'ghost hunt,' as Dr. Miller likes to call it. Bollinger's working with Professor Miller..... Let's just say, neither of them appreciate this field."

"I remember him," I told her. "I remember Professor Miller from when I went to school there. Really.... bad vibes I got from him, man."

"Yes, well, I'm glad you never had any of his classes, to be quite honest."


	27. Drinks All Around

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 27: Drinks All Around

It was about seven thirty by the time we got out of the lecture hall. Joyce and Steve left together, and nearly straightaway, but Pam was the one that offered we go out for drinks to get to know each other outside of the coming weekend. Emery, of course, made some nasty comment and went on his way. So Vic, Pam, Cathy, Nick and I all went out together. We took two cars; I took Nick and Pam, and Vic took Cathy.

Shakespeare's Pub was exceptionally loud for a Monday night; apparently, the university was playing their rival team and everyone wanted out to see the showdown. But we sat down at a table and ordered two pitchers anyway. Vic excused himself for a moment to use the facilities, and Nick began serving everyone. He started with Cathy.

"Oh- only half for me, please!" She laughed. Nick smiled and filled her glass halfway, then turned to me.

"_Full_ glass for me, sweetheart, thank you."

"Oh?" Nick laughed. "So have you made me the driving designate, then?" I giggled and he leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"So how long have you two been married?" Cathy asked as Nick filled up Pam's glass.

"Oh, just over a year now," Nick smiled, filling up Vic's glass, too. "You'd be surprised at how many people find it hard to believe we're actually married."

"Yeah, you two have the same age difference that Ellen and John did, don't you?" Pam asked. "I mean-- if you don't mind me asking...." Her face flushed red, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, that's right," I smiled. "Don't worry about it. As a matter of fact, a few months ago-- and this was _soooo_ funny--" I burst out laughing, and Nick, grinning, rolled his eyes with a groan. "I popped into the university to see him for a moment and when I got down to his room, he wasn't there, but some of his students were, waiting for the next class. Anyway, I took a seat up front by his desk to wait for him and one of the students asked me if I was a sub. I told them no, that I was just visiting Nick, and that's when he walked in and another student called out to him, 'Hey, Professor Hardaway, I didn't know you had a daughter!'"

"Oh, God!" Pam guffawed, hiding her face in her hands.

"I couldn't help it, I was howling," I laughed.

Vic finally returned then, and he took a seat across from Nick. "We thought you were lost," Nick told him with a smile, and Vic returned it.

"Not lost, only misplaced."

I smiled as Cathy proposed a toast. "To Rose Red?" She suggested.

"To Rose Red!" We all chimed in and drank.

"Joyce is looking for a seventh, isn't she?" Vic asked.

"A girl," Nick told us. "A teenager."

"Is that something you see?" Pam asked him, but he didn't answer, only smiled kindly at her. He never was one to talk too much of his gifts, if at all.

"What's your special trait, Pam?" He asked her.

"I'm what they call a.... touch-know. I handle things and see stuff, get feelings. It doesn't always work, though." She wrinkled her nose in disappointment.

"What about you, Vic?"

Vic heard Nick, but he was staring down at the table, concentrating on a thought and he chose his words carefully. "Two people, mid twenties.... She's in a blue dress, he's in jeans. He's blonde, over golded, and has a case of Roman hands and Russian fingers."

Cathy laughed, confused. "What in the world are you talking-- Oh!"

A young blonde man in jeans, about my age, breezed past us with a young woman in a blue dress; the man reached down and grabbed his date's rear end and she giggled. Cathy gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, but she couldn't contain the grin. Nick and I were laughing, and Pam's jaw hit the floor.

"Oh my gosh, you're a pre-cog! Uuh-- you! Cathy!"

"I'm an automatic writer." She was still smiling from Vic's display of power.

"Ah, a human Ouija board!" I suggested.

"Oh, Ouija boards, they--" Cathy waved the notion aside, frowning. "The channel is too wide, what comes through is unpleasant. Sometimes it's astral, sometimes, pre-cog, but mostly people to people. Someone concentrate. You, Pam!"

"Me? O-okay..." Pam squeezed her sky-blue eyes shut and smiled, her face going pink as she pushed her dark blonde hair over her shoulders. Cathy pulled out a napkin and a pen from her purse and began to write in loops, but before long, the loops hooked down into little hearts and all of a sudden, the name Steve was printed out three times across the little cocktail napkin.

"Steve?!" Nick guffawed.

"Wha---!" Pam's eyes flew open, and she glanced down at the napkin. Her eyes went wide. She snatched the napkin from the table and hid it in her hands, as she smiled, embarrassed, at the group around her. Cathy was beaming.

"What about you, Steve--" Pam shook her head and squinted her eyes shut. "Uuh, Nick?" Cathy was really giggling now, and I was, too.

Nick smiled, gazing into his beer. "He calls her Dee. Now, why does he do that, I wonder...?"

"Nick?"

"Oh.... different stuff. A little of this, a little of that. If I'm lucky, everything turns out okay."

Pam smiled. "And you, Liza. What is it you can do?"

"Me? Um.... well, I don't know if there's anything really special about me, honestly."

"Oh, come now, love," Nick smiled gently, and he reached over to put an arm around me. "You have a very important gift. Go on, tell them."

I blushed, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I'm just a medium," I shrugged. "The spirits, they..... they don't generally leave me alone, really. I mean, I--" I brought my head back up. "I've gone for a couple weeks without hearing from anyone. I think the longest was..... what, three weeks?" I looked at Nick. "I've helped a few cross over."

"Yes," Nick chuckled. "And by 'a few,' she means at least a few dozen."

"Ooh, Liza!" Cathy smiled. "He's right, you know, it is a very special gift. That's wonderful, honey."

"How long have you been seeing spirits, Liza?" Vic asked me.

"Um...." I had to think for a moment. "Twenty-two years."

Pam gasped. "Wha.... well, how old are you, anyhow?"

"I'm twenty-six," I laughed. "The thing is, uh.... when I was four years old, I was in this car accident and although I didn't get any scars from that one I did die for a few minutes and when the doctors brought me back..... well, I came back with a bit of a souvenir, it seems."

"Oh...." Cathy breathed, frowning. A thought occurred to her. "'That one?'"

"I was in another a few years ago...... That's where my face and my leg got all the scars. My back, well.... that was something else. A spirit did that about two years ago."

"What?!" Pam gasped, and I nodded. "God, hon," she added. "You have been through _hell_."

"Aah, the life of a psychic," I breathed, smiling, and Nick leaned in to kiss my ear.

"So." Nick turned to the group. "What of our friend Emery?"

Pam made a face. "Your friend, not mine."

"I think Emery is post-cog," Cathy told us. "He sees the past."

"Not the most comfortable of talents, I'm afraid," Vic said.

"Well....." Cathy sighed, raising her glass. "Here's to good thoughts and goodwill, then!"


	28. Going Together

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 28: Going Together

We exchanged numbers and parted ways shortly thereafter; I dropped Pam and Nick back at the university. As I pulled in, Nick leaned over and kissed me. "I'll meet you at home, love."

Nick walked Pam to her car and then got in his own, and we were back home in less than twenty minutes. I immediately went to the bathroom sink to wash the makeup from my face and brush my teeth, and as I slipped into my pajamas, Nick came in.

"Well," he smiled. "That was fun."

Smiling, I nodded. "I like them. I'm really glad to know others.... what's the phrase? 'The more, the merrier?'" I climbed into bed, wrapping myself in the quilt and blankets draped across our queen-sized bed, and it wasn't until then that I realized just how cold I actually was. "God, I'm freezing!"

Nick was right behind me, smiling. "It isn't that cold in here, darling." He pulled me into his arms anyway.

"I know, but you know how I get....." I yawned and my teeth immediately began to chatter. We were silent then, as I tried to warm up. "Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"What was it you saw tonight? You saw something, I know you did. At the meeting, and then at the pub, too. You read their minds, didn't you?"

Nick was silent for a moment, thoughtfully studying the ceiling. "Professor Miller told Joyce their department revoked her tenure. I saw Joyce and Dr. Miller..... they were fighting. I heard Dr. Miller tell her about the tenure."  I curled up closer to him, and he drew in the quilt around me. "I'm not sure what to make of this weekend excursion of Joyce's."

"Liza, you were the one who wanted to go--"

"It's not that, baby, no, it's-- yeah, I wanna go, it's just-- what I mean is that, I... I can't _see_. I don't know what to expect. We could go in there and have the most boring and uneventful weekend of our lives, and then, on the other hand......"

"On the other hand?"

I nodded quietly. "Yeah. 'On the other hand.' It's what I'm most afraid of."

Nick tilted my chin up to make me look at him. "You remember what I told you in New Orleans, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And what was it I told you?"

"You wouldn't ever let anything happen to me?"

"That's right," he kissed my forehead.

"Oh, Nick....." I sighed. "You don't understand."

"Well, then, explain it to me, sweetheart."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

He got it then, after just a moment. Leaning in, he kissed me gently, then looked me in the eye again. "Nothing is going to happen to me, Liza; you needn't worry. Sleep now. You know I'm not going anywhere."

I nodded, making myself comfortable again as Nick reached up and shut out the lamp, then turned back to put the other arm around me, too.

"I love you, Liza."

"Love you, too."

In no time, Friday was upon us. It was the fastest week ever, it seemed, and on Thursday night, we each packed our own bag for the weekend. I showered after breakfast, and pulled on jeans, my hi-tops and a long-sleeve black shirt. Nick was in jeans, a dark gray jacket and dark blue long sleeve shirt; it was a little cool that day, unusually so for the last weekend in May. Nick and I drove together, in my car, to the university to meet with the others. We ended up arriving nearly ten minutes early, but found Pam, Vic and Cathy waiting for us. Joyce and Steven were loading the van.

"Oh, no, it wasn't nearly as bad as last year, when my sister came to visit, but..... Oh, hey, Nick. Liza." Pam smiled when we joined the group.

"Hi, guys." I set down my little bag and pulled my jacket on, shuddering.

"Yeah," Pam laughed. "I was just telling Cathy about how last Memorial Day weekend had odd weather, too."

I grinned. "I know, right? What is going _on_, man?"

Pam laughed and was about to say something else when a sound from behind Nick and me caught our attention. Nick and I turned around to find an old tan station wagon come tearing through the school parking lot, narrowly missing my dark green little Civic and coming to a halt in front of the fire hydrant. I winced. "Jesus, lady, what the hell?" It was then I realized that lady was Emery's mother. She was a plump, frog-like woman with chin length black hair that was parted on the side and held away from her face with a little red clip. Ambling out of the car, she pulled her dark blue sweater around her and called out something to Emery as he climbed out of the car and fished his hiking pack out of the back seat.

"Now-- if things get to be too much, call and I'll come get you."

"I will, Mom," Emery said, aghast. "I have to go."

"Call anyway! You know how I worry!"

"They're waiting!"

"Let them wait! They won't do much without you, okay?" As she helped Emery hoist the pack onto his back, she eyed us with suspicion-- me, especially. "And stay away from that dark-haired girl, she looks like a tramp."

"Tramp?!" Nick's jaw dropped.

"Jesus!" I scoffed under my breath. "What, she thinks we can't hear her?!" Nick shook his head, and Pam rubbed my arm sympathetically. Emery came over to us then, looking defeated and mortified that anyone should have to witness anything like what we did.

"And don't forget to wash your hands," Mrs. Waterman shouted across the commons. "Especially after you move your bowels!"

"Oh, God," my head dropped to Pam's shoulder and my hand flew to my mouth as I tried to stifle a laugh. Pam was trying not to laugh, either.

"Gee, Emery, the day before summer camp must've been a busy time at the Waterman residence," Nick smirked.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, Nick...." I chided softly, still trying to keep from losing my poker face. "Tsk tsk tsk. Well..... five bucks says we're going to hell." Nick couldn't keep the sly little smile from his face, either, as he slid an arm around my shoulders and leaned down to kiss my lips.

I was sliding my arms around Nick's waist for a hug when, leaning against him, I noticed Professor Miller coming from the building's doors to where Joyce and Steve were just about done loading the van. "Hey, look, it's Miller." We watched as they exchanged a few words-- Miller, of course, looking accusatory-- and Steven, albeit miffed, kept his cool. "I wonder what they're saying to each other."

"E-excuse me.... are you the group?" A new voice broke through our thoughts as Nick and I turned to find a young woman with hair and eyes the same color as mine. Her hair barely reached her shoulders, and it was pulled back. A young girl stood with her, clutching a Raggedy Ann doll in her arms. She had eyes like the first woman, but her straight, light brown hair was long, well past her shoulder blades.

"The Rose Red group?" Pam asked. "Yes, yes, that's us."

The new woman sighed in relief, smiling.

"I'm Pam Asbury," Pam shook the woman's hand, and indicated each of us as she introduced us. "This is Cathy Kramer, Victor Kandinsky--"

"Vic, just Vic."

"--Emery Waterman, and this is Nick and Liza Hardaway."

"Hi.... I-I'm Sissy Wheaton, and this is my sister, Annie. Traffic was terrible, we were so worried we were going to miss you."

"Well, we're glad you didn't," Nick smiled.

In an instant, Joyce was upon us, beaming. "Sister! Or-- do you prefer Rachel?"

"Oh, either is--" Sissy was cut off suddenly by rapid ticking noises behind her, and we looked to find the wheels to all the bikes locked up spinning furiously. "Oh, Annie, just stop it, okay?"

Annie gave one glance up at her sister before looking back down at her doll, and the tires stopped with a collective screech.

"Whoa," I breathed, grinning.

"Good God," Emery scoffed. "She's retarded."

Nick was on him again, this time, a little more subtly. "If you keep your psychological evaluation of Miss Wheaton to yourself, we won't ask you any embarrassing questions about your relationship with your mother. Chin, chin."

Emery scowled wordlessly at him.

"Alright, folks," Joyce sighed, smiling. "Gather your things. It's time to go."


	29. Rose Red

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 29: Rose Red

Ten bodies in a van designed for nine was bound to cause some trouble; Steve drove with Joyce riding shotgun; Sissy, Annie, Nick and I had the row right behind them (which was exceptionally difficult, as it was designed for only three), and Vic, Pam, Cathy and Emery had the row in the very back. We were fortunate, at least, to have a short trip of only fifteen minutes, and, a few blocks after having turned onto Spring Street, Steve said, "Well, here she is. Rose Red." We pulled into a wrought-iron gate that was overflowing with vines, some of which had begun to wither and die.

"Oh, it... it seems to be looking at us."

"It is, Cathy," Nick stared ahead at the enormous estate, then did a double take to Steve. He seemed to be lost in some distant memory. "Steve? You alright?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, sure, I'm okay." Steve shook it off, taking up a small black remote and pressing the one button on its side. The gates swung open with a groan and Steve pulled the van up and around the stone fountain to the front of the house. Joyce climbed out of the passenger seat and threw open the doors for us to get out, and we did so, grateful to be able to stretch our cramped legs.

The mansion was gorgeous; I had to drop my bag and crane my neck to take it all in. It was three stories, and made of mostly brick with hints of limestone here and there. Old vines covered everything, not just the gate, and as I stood staring at it, I felt what Cathy must have been referring to in the car just moments earlier. I felt as if I were under a microscope, and I didn't like it. "Oh, I wish she'd stop staring at me," I shuddered, pulling my jacket up around my shoulders. I was beginning to question what I'd gotten us into.

Pam and Vic were at my side then, gazing up at the house, too. "You know something?" Pam asked us. "I'm a little scared. I've never done anything like this before."

"Me, neither," I shook my head.

"Be not afraid," Vic told us with a smile. "Only believe."

Nick and Steve were unloading the van behind us. Rope, lamps, cases with extra equipment. "What's this?" Nick asked, producing rolls of papers from the back of the van.

"House plans," Steve told him. "Although honestly, we're better off with a 14th century map of Africa." Steve turned to find Annie close behind, hugging her doll glancing around calmly. "How you holdin' up, sweetheart?" Steve smiled at her, and when she remained silent, he chuckled. He glanced back up at the house for a moment, and then there he went, lost in a memory again.

"Steve?" Nick took his arm. "What can you hear?"

"It.... um." Steve swallowed hard. "It knows we're here. It _wants_ us here. God help us, but it does."

Next to me, Pam shuddered, but I could.... I could _hear_ something! I strained my ears to try and pick it up. Whispering, voices.... I wanted so desperately to understand what they were saying, but before I could focus any further, the voices died down.

"What?" Joyce was at Steve's side. "What did you hear?"

"There were voices," I started, and Steve nodded. "I couldn't make them out."

"I heard them, too," Nick told Joyce. "Liza's right, though. They weren't clear."

"What do you think it was, Steve?" Joyce asked him.

"I have no idea," he shrugged. "I've no psychic bone in my body, as you well know. You tested me yourself, y-you--" Steve did a double-take; Nick was staring at him, the wheels in his head turning. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Nick shook his head. I laughed quietly because I knew Nick too well. He was way too aware for one human being. Steve shrugged and went to carry the house plans to the front door. Nick, turning, found Annie right next to him. He smiled at her kindly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "_You_ know, though, don't you? You know, but you're not telling." I could have sworn I saw a little smile tug at the corner of the girl's mouth. Joyce had told me over the phone that fifteen-year-old Annie Wheaton was autistic, and I knew how quiet and reserved autistic people tended to be, but the little smile I caught didn't surprise me. Nick had a way of bringing out the best in people, even when he was being difficult. He looked up at me then, winking, and I grinned as I felt the color rush to my cheeks.

Steve came back to the truck, and Nick helped him unload the last pieces of equipment and other things. "Emmers, come help us unload," Nick called to Emery. "It seems as if it's the butler's day off."

"Don't call me that," Emery scowled.

"For five grand, you can help carry a few boxes, right, Emery?" Steve handed Emery a carton of food.

"Pam, can you come here, please?" We heard Joyce call from the front door.

"Sure..." Pam made her way up to the huge double doors protected by a stone overhang, and Joyce put an arm around her, so Cathy, Sissy and I followed to see what Joyce had in mind.

"You're a touch-know, Pam." Joyce indicated the door. "Go ahead."

Pam glanced at her for a moment. "Okay." With a sigh, she closed her eyes and slowly reached out to put her hands on the engravings that decorated the massive entryway. Immediately, she gave a start, and a tear trickled down her face.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Come in, sir. You were expected....... Come in, sir. You were expected." Shuddering, Pam broke away from the door a moment later, wiping her face on the back of her hand.

"Dude, Pam," I got goosebumps all up and down my arms when Pam had spoken. "That wasn't your voice. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Pam smiled, sniffling. "It was nothing."

A strong hand grabbed my shoulder, and I started. "Oh!"

Nick gasped, then started laughing. "My my, aren't we the jumpy one?"

"Oh, stop," I rolled my eyes, smiling. "It's not every day you spend the night in a haunted house."

"Yes, and it's not every day you spend the night in a haunted hotel, either, but I think we came out no worse for wear."

"That was different!"

"How was it different? It was still dangerous! Need I remind you, you nearly died! _Twice!_"

"But I _didn't._ We did it anyway, and _now_ look at us!" I grinned, stepping back for a moment and opening my arms, and Steve immediately began whistling the Addams Family theme song, complete with snaps.

Nick and I burst out laughing. "Steve!"

"Alright, alright, you guys!" Joyce laughed. "That's quite enough. I'm glad the mood's lightened a bit since we got in but now we've gotta focus. Come on."

Joyce opened up the massive doors to let us inside, and as they swung open, my eyes went wide. "Ugh, my God, would you look at this place?" I gaped at the massive interior. "Nick, I'd be willing to bet we could park our entire house in this foyer!" At the end of the massive hallway-- which had smaller halls and rooms off to its sides-- there was a common area and two staircases that wrapped around the circular room to the second floor. In the center of the common area was a table set up with all of our 'ghost-hunting' equipment. I was making my way to the table when something caught my eye: a portrait of a woman with dark hair and dark eyes, and I realized then it was Ellen Rimbauer. She was wearing a gorgeous white dress, not unlike a wedding dress.

"Wait..." I stopped Joyce. "That-- that's Ellen Rimbauer."

"Well, um..... yes, Liza, it-- honey, are you okay?"

"I _know_ her."

"You saw her picture at the meeting on Monday, and you've been by my office a number of times, of course, and seen the picture on my bulletin board--"

"No, no, not that," I waved it aside, continuing to stare at the painting, trying to place the memory that was stirring deep within me. It was a memory that stung. "I mean, I.... something's not right. She's....."

"It's okay. Slow down," Joyce slid an arm around my shoulder. "Slow down and try and figure it out."

I stared at her for a few moments longer. "A hammer."

"What?" Steve looked blindsided.

"What do you mean, a hammer, honey? Is that-- is that something you see?"

"Oh, God, I have no idea." I shook my head. "It's not that I've seen her picture. I've seen _her_, don't you understand?"

"Where?"

"I don't know......" I shook off the thought and sighed. "Oh, maybe I just dreamed it. Come on. Let's get on with this, shall we?"


	30. Trespassing

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 30: Trespassing

"You'll figure it out, honey," Joyce smiled at me as we continued down the hall and into the common area, where the equipment was set up. "Now, there's a flashlight for each of you; I suggest you keep it on you or near you at all times, please."

"The power's fine most of the time, though," Steve added, taking one for himself.

"If it goes out, I don't suppose looking for the fuse box would do us much good," Nick smiled, and Steve shook his head, smiling back.

"Neither would calling Puget Sound Energy."

"Luckily all my equipment switches to batteries in case that happens, so..... no need for worry in that department." Joyce slid her bags under the table with the rest of our personal belongings. She smiled at us. "Alright.... I think we'd better get started."

There was a gasp from behind us as Sissy cried out. "Where's Annie?" At that same moment, a gust of wind blew through the main hallway, kicking up dirt and leaves as Annie came in towards us. Behind her, the front doors slammed shut, making a few of us jump, including myself.

Where most of us had rattled nerves, Joyce was beaming.

Moments later we found ourselves making our way through the house. We were going down a little hallway as Joyce filled us in on some of the prerequisites.

"The only thing I insist upon is that you don't go off alone. The geography of Rose Red can seem unstable."

"We could double up on sleeping arrangements!" Pam suggested to Joyce with a smile. "I don't mind staying with Cathy. Ma-maybe the four of us could go in together, it'd be like summer camp."

I giggled. "I like Pam's idea!"

Nick grinned, throwing an arm around Emery. "Well, in that case, since Liza's staying with you ladies, I'll stay with Emmers, and after midnight, we'll raid the fridge!" Emery gave him a faux look of joy, forcefully removing Nick's arm from his shoulder.

"The bedrooms are perfectly safe," Joyce told us, smiling. "The important thing is not to go off wandering." We made it to a set of double doors then, with big windows that showed a large, well-lit room on the other side. As Joyce swung the doors open, we entered, and Cathy grinned. The kitchen was huge. It was off-white, with tiles against the backs of the counters and stoves, and a large table off to the right side. There was an island in the middle of the kitchen that overlooked a beautiful solarium. To our left was a large door inlaid into the mahogany wall.

"Wow!" Cathy laughed. "You could make Thanksgiving dinner for a hundred people in here!"

"Yeah," Emery scoffed. "Maybe after the place was fumigated."

"You're such a charmer," Nick told him flatly.

"Was I talking to you?"

We continued on through the kitchen and to the solarium out back. It was gorgeous, albeit overrun by dead and decaying vines and flowers. "So.... this is the solarium," Joyce told us. "Ellen called it the health room. Just after the end of the first world war, railroad executive George Meader, friend and drinking buddy of John Rimbauer, died in here. The doctor said he died of extreme allergic reaction to a bee sting. As I told you, in its heyday, men didn't fare well here in Rose Red."

"That's not very reassuring," Nick frowned, pushing vines aside as we followed our guide further into the solarium.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Joyce tried to calm my husband. "Just remember the buddy system, folks!" Joyce was about to continue when Steven interrupted her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-- hang on. What's this?" He went over and picked up an open cell phone from the stone pathway. "This belong to any one of you?" He looked around the group as we all shook our heads.

"Not mine," I told him. "And I doubt it's Sukeena's."

Pam giggled, and Nick smiled at me, then turned to Steve. "Press redial and see what happens."

So Steve did just that, and after a moment, we could hear a voice on the other end, the answering machine message. Finally, a beep. "Hi, Professor Miller, this is Steven Rimbauer, Joyce Reardon's friend." Joyce's eyes went wide, and she gasped, flying for the phone, but Steven held her off as he continued. "We seem to have found a piece of your property here in Rose Red. I'm fairly sure you didn't drop it yourself since we saw you not too long ago, but I have a good idea as to who did: the guy who wrote the newspaper story. Am I right? Now, trespassing isn't a very serious crime, and abetting a trespasser is probably even less serious, but I think your dignity is going to take a hit at the very least. Guess who's gonna be the cover boy on next week's paper? You have a nice day now."

Come the end of the message Steve left, Joyce was grinning.

"Bravo, Steve," Nick laughed.

"You can't be certain that was Professor Miller's phone," Cathy said.

"Oh, of course it is," Joyce told her matter-of-factly. "You want proof, dial some of the numbers in memory. I bet one of them is that son-of-a-bitch, Bollinger."

"If that was the reporter's phone, then where's the reporter?" For the first time since the weekend started, Emery's interest in what was going on seemed to have been piqued.

"Look, maybe something scared him, the type of thing that neither he nor Professor Miller believe in, and he ran off."

"He could still be in the house!"

"If so, we'll find him! Now, c'mon--"

"Shouldn't we notify someone?" Pam asked, concerned. "Like the police, maybe?"

"Why?" Joyce challenged. "If Bollinger's here, he's trespassing, like Steve said. If we call the cops, there will be so many of them here and it will screw up the atmosphere, and Miller will win. That pig Miller will win. And he can't! I won't let him! I just--" She stuttered, and Steve put a hand on her arm.

"Joyce," he smiled. "He won't win. Don't worry."

"And if we find Bollinger," Nick told Joyce with a smile. "We can give him a cup of tea and a good spanking and send him on his way."

The smile spread around the group. "Sounds good to me," Vic voted.

"Yeah, me, too," I giggled. Nick's smile filled out as he reached down to kiss my neck. All of this made Joyce laugh.

"On with the show?" Steve grinned at her, and she nodded.

"On with the show."

Back in the kitchen, Joyce leaned against the island. "You're stopping in here because of Aunt April, aren't you?" Steve asked her with a smile, and Joyce nodded. "You go ahead and tell them, then, Joyce."

"You sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure. I mean, that's what we're here for, right? Besides, it was all before my time. Go on."

"Ooh, good," I grinned, taking a seat at the kitchen table next to Nick. "Another story."

"Well. April Rimbauer was six years old when she disappeared. Her brother Adam was away at boarding school at the time...."

"Boarding school at eight?" Cathy was surprised.

"It was Dad's idea," Joyce told her. "Oh, Ellen ranted and raved, but this time, John put his foot down and _kept_ it down. He didn't trust Rose Red, even then. This-" She indicated the kitchen. "-was the last place April was ever seen. Sukeena stepped into the pantry over there for what she swore was no more than thirty seconds. When she came out.... April was gone. She called out to her, and said she could hear her singing. Out of nowhere, Sukeena said she heard April scream, and that was the last anyone heard of her. Fifty men searched the house and grounds, but found nothing. Not so much as a lock of her hair or a thread from her dress."

"My great-grandfather was convinced Sukeena had something to do with it," Steven added. "So he had Sukeena taken downtown. Ellen objected strongly, but John respectfully declined to listen. Sukeena was taken to a small room and was questioned for fifty hours with no food, no breaks, no nothing. In the end she convinced them she knew nothing, but it cost her three teeth, a broken nose and a broken wrist. Eventually she was allowed to return home again. Well-- the only one she had left, that is."

When the story came to a close we headed upstairs to see what we could find, but first, we went through the main hall. Nick and Emery each grabbed a length of rope to take with them. The staircase we used was wooden, and up against a brick wall; it reminded me of a spiral staircase, only this "room" was square, and the stairs went around the walls, round and round. Cobwebs were strung between each beam, and I shuddered at the thought of their unseen creators. I never was a huge fan of spiders.

"Nick," Joyce called. "Go ahead and tie up the rope to the end of the railing. That way we can find our way back, in case the house goes changing on us." He went up to the front of the group with Joyce and tied the rope down to the end of the banister and Joyce smiled at us. "Alright, folks. Follow me, and prepare to be amazed."

"Liza...." Nick called softly, motioning for me, and I ran up to the head of the group with him.

Joyce led our little group up the stairs as Nick let the ropes unwind around the staircase. It took us a long while to reach the top, and we were quiet most of the way.

"Did you talk to Chris before we left, Nick?" I asked quietly.

My husband nodded. "He wasn't happy."  I scoffed. "Yeah, he reamed me out, too."

"Well, knowing what his one visit to Rose Red did to him, I'm not sure I can blame him all too much for the way he feels on the subject."

I slowed for a moment, stunned. "What?"

Nick turned back to me, confused. "He didn't tell you?"  "No, Nick, he didn't tell me." I started walking again. My throat closed in on me and I felt dizzy. "When?"

"Oh," Nick sighed. "I suppose about twelve years ago now." I didn't say anything, and Nick turned back to me. "Oy.... Liza." I looked up at him and he grinned, reaching out his hand for mine. I took it. "Don't let it bother you, darling. You were very young at the time, and I'm sure he didn't want to frighten you." I nodded, squeezing his hand.

"Thanks, honey," I whispered, smiling.


	31. Camera

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 31: Camera

It wasn't long before we reached the top. A small landing at top of the stairs had one door, and Joyce pushed it open to let us through. The large hallway was gorgeous; Beautiful crimson wallpaper with mahogany paneling on the bottom and matching archways on the ceiling. The carpet was a beautiful tan. "This is what Ellen called the Prospective Hallway. It was Ellen's first major addition and was not designed by an architect."

"She did it herself?" Cathy laughed, surprised and impressed. "Way to go, Ellen!"

"But she didn't," Joyce grinned.

"Wha.... then, who?" Sissy asked.

"Sukeena."

"Her maid?"

"Her _companion_."

As we continued down the hallway, it kept getting smaller and smaller, until we had to duck to keep from decking ourselves on the archways. Pam laughed. "This is wild! It's like something in a fun-house." She tried one of the doors, but it wouldn't budge. "It's making my stomach turn," she giggled. "I guess they're pieces, built into perspective."

"Camouflage was great-gran's idea," Steven told her. "Didn't want to spoil the illusion." He went up to Pam and put his hand on the wall next to the faux door Pam had tried, giving the wall a slight push, and, with a pop, it swung open to reveal a beautiful bedroom. Out of nowhere, howling winds came thundering from the bedroom, making everyone jump. I cried out and was nearly knocked off my feet in surprise, and Nick grabbed my arm to steady me. Annie went up to the door suddenly, furrowing her brows.

"Annie, no!" Sissy cried out.

"NO!" Annie screamed into the bedroom and over the roar of the winds. "You be quiet!" And that's all it took; the winds stopped and the door slammed shut in our faces.

"If you wanted this place to wake up," Nick told Joyce. "I'd say you've been successful in that regard."

"W-what was that?" Cathy asked. "Who screamed?"

"No-one. No... person, that is," Joyce told her. "It was the house. Sukeena was the first person to hear Rose Red scream after April disappeared. In the mid-sixties, a team of scientists, one of them a geologist, spent time investigating and heard Rose Red scream a few times."  "And what did they conclude?" Nick asked her.

"They stated it was underground water, perhaps amplified by the old water drainage pipes that run under Seattle. This hallway was the last place Ellen Rimbauer was ever seen. They moved in on the fifteenth of January in nineteen-oh-nine, so she wore the same white dress that day, the dress she arrived in. Most years, she threw a party that day. Anybody who was anybody showed up: politicians, hoodlums, sports players, stars. When the actress disappeared, the parties stopped. Anyway, Ellen disappeared on January fifteenth, nineteen-fifty. She was seventy. A maid saw her and said good evening, and Ellen went by as if she'd not heard her. That was the last anyone ever saw her." Joyce motioned for us to follow. "Now, c'mon. There's lots more to see."

We left the hallway and went into the next room. Emery hooked his rope onto the lamp on the wall, as Nick had run out of his. "Alright." Joyce let us into the next room, and the lights were off, so she searched for the switch. "This is the gymnasium. The exercise equipment is a bit out of date, but--"

"Whoa." The lights were hit, but as we looked around, we realized Joyce was way off. I grinned. "Joyce, I have never seen a gym quite like this."

The room was massive. It was round and had a domed, white ceiling, with a chandelier in the center that lit the room up very well, and its walls were lined with books. Chairs dotted the edges of the room. But the most impressive part of the room was its floor. The floor was made entirely of mirror!

"Oooh, man...." I clutched Nick's arm, feeling dizzy.

"This is the mirror library," Steven told us, glancing around anxiously. "It's not in the original plans. I was terrified to come in here as a kid because I thought I'd fall."

"How can this room not be in the plans?" Emery asked, aghast. I studied the library for a few moments when all of a sudden my eyes found something.

"Oh! Look!" I raced over and scooped up the camera, turning it over in my hands, studying it. I found a tag on the back and gasped, running back to Nick. "Read it."

He glanced it over. "Not good. Not good at all. Look: 'Property of Kevin Bollinger.'"

"Oh, God. Mr. Bollinger?" Pam called out. "Mr. Bollinger, are you here?"

Before she could finish, the lights all flickered and went out, plunging us into darkness. I cried out, and Nick immediately flipped on his flashlight.

"What's wrong?"

"Aah, see, I knew this would happen," Joyce said nonchalantly. "Just use your flashlights for now, I'm sure the power will come back soon."

"I think we should go back downstairs," I told her. A place this haunted, lights going out like that never meant anything pleasant.

"Hush, nonsense," Joyce shook her head.

"Look!"

We all glanced over to where Cathy had pointed to find a bright blue light rising up off the floor. My jaw dropped.

"Steve," Joyce hissed. "Roll tape, roll tape! Go!"

He whipped out his camera straightaway as we heard a little voice call out for Annie. Annie, her interest fully held by this bright blue entity, went towards it.

"Annie, don't touch it!" Nick warned her, concerned, and I, too, reached out for her.

"Honey, c'mon, come-- stay here." I grabbed her arm but she slipped from my hand easily, her eyes wide with excitement. Her little hand reached out and grasped for the light, desperately trying to reach whomever was at the center of that light.

"Annie......"

"Annie, no!" Sissy stepped out for her but Nick grabbed her arm. "Somebody's gotta stop her!"

There was a series of bright flashes from next to us then, and my head snapped over in surprise to find Cathy with the camera. She'd set it off and aimed it straight for the spirit. This seemed to work, for the spirit screamed and disappeared. The lights were back on instantaneously. Sissy broke away to go to her sister, and I clung to Nick's arm.

"How did you know to do that, Cathy?" Nick asked her.

"I don't know, I... I just did. Here, take it. I don't want it."

"Here, let me." Pam stepped in and Cathy handed it to her. She turned it over in her hands, studying it. "Try to get some pictures. Good pictures of them being psychic."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know....." Pam thought. "I think it was someone talking to Bollinger."

"I bet I know who," Joyce shook her head.

"Is Bollinger alive?" Steven asked Pam. "Can you tell?"

"Well, he was when he dropped his camera, but..... beyond that, I don't know."

"We oughta get out of here, Joyce. Really."

"Okay," Joyce sighed. "Let's go back downstairs, folks. Break time."

And it was as if we couldn't get out of that room fast enough.


	32. Push

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 32: Push

Back out in the hall, we followed the rope Emery left around the corner...... and straight into a wall. A complete dead end. There it was, the rope coming from the very center of the wall, about waist high. My heart skipped a beat.

"The hallway....." Vic was first to break through the confusion. "It's different."

"He's right," Pam nodded. "We should be going back the way we came, but.... we're not."

It was then we heard it: the faint sounds of building. It seemed to be coming from all around us, straight in from the walls.

"What _is_ that?" I glanced around the hallway, trying to place the sound.

"The building's started again. You wanted to wake this place up, well, I think you got what you wanted." Steve glanced at Joyce.

"Who's building?" Nick asked him.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Is it too hard to remember, or too frightening?"

Out of nowhere, during Nick and Steve's little exchange, the sounds of construction stopped. "W-wait....." Sissy held up a hand. "Listen. Boys, listen. The building sounds have stopped."

"Then I suggest we go downstairs before it starts again." Nick took my hand as we went back the way we came to find another hallway. But what greeted us around the next corner-- instead of the Prospective Hallway-- was yet another dead end. My heart went straight for my throat. "Oh! Joyce, the hallway!"

Judging by the look on my former professor's face, I could tell she was just as in the dark as I was. Nick released my hand to approach the wall, and I fought confusion. "Nick, wait--" I tried grabbing for him.

"It's alright, darling," he motioned for me to stay back. "Hold on." Standing facing the wall, Nick placed both his hands against the tan surface, closing his eyes and focusing. When they opened again moments later, he turned and found Annie.

"Annie," my husband called softly, and she looked up at him. "Yes. I need your help."

She looked at Joyce, unsure, but Joyce gave her the go ahead and she went up to stand with Nick, who put an arm around her shoulder.

"Now," Nick instructed her. "Put your hands here--" He placed her hands on the wall. "--but push from here." He indicated his head. "You ready? Okay."

Within seconds, the hall began to rumble and shake. I gasped, and Sissy clutched at my hand. "Annie? What are you doing?"

The shaking grew. "Nick?"

"Not now, Joyce."

"Trust him, Joyce; he knows what he's doing," I told her, although I was just as nervous as everyone else.

The pair focused even harder and within seconds, the wall exploded away from us with a powerful gust of wind. The lights flickered and died.

"Annie!!"

The lights were back within seconds, and everyone was fine, arms and legs were still intact. The Prospective hallway stretched out before us at last. A collective sigh of relief echoed its way around the group, and Nick, smiling, reached up to touch Annie's cheek. "You were great, little sister," he said quietly, and Annie giggled.

"That wasn't funny," Sissy told Annie as she led her younger sister off.

"Oh, come on, I told you guys to trust him," I smiled as Nick came up to put an arm around me.

"You were just as nervous as the rest of them."

"I'm _always_ nervous when it comes to the paranormal, sweetheart," I replied. "You _know_ this."

Shaking his head, Nick chuckled.

"Alright, kids," Joyce sighed. "I- I think I may know another way down. Maybe there'll be something worth seeing along the way."

"Are you sure you know the way?" Nick asked her. A perfectly reasonable question, I felt, but not Joyce.

"Yes!" She said it a bit too forcefully, shaking her head with a look of, 'God, cut me a break' on her face.

Steve found the next door and pushed it aside. As we made our way in, everyone made a noise. "Whoa, what the hell?"

"Oh, I'm dizzy."

"Great-grandma was never above using a good trick twice," Steve told us as we walked through a large office with multiple desks, file cabinets and coat racks. The only catch was, we were walking the ceiling. Every desk, phone, chair and file cabinet was firmly placed into the linoleum 'ceiling' above us. "I guess it was her joke on her husband's business life.

"Here's the real door, right here..... Yeah, press there, Vic."

Our friend did just that, and the door, invisible while closed, swung open to reveal a beautiful bedroom-- right side up.

"Man, this house has everything _but_ chow," Emery moaned, clutching his stomach.


	33. The Actress

IN THE MOOD  
Chapter 33: The Actress

"So? How's that, Emery?" Joyce crossed her arms, standing in front of Emery as he wolfed down a plate of snacks that had been busted out for everyone. We were back down in the main living room, just off the grand entrance. Sofas, chairs, coffee (and side) tables, lamps, they were everywhere.

"Well.... it ain't the best, but...."

"What do you want, big boy?" Nick asked, putting down his plate for a moment. "Bare-breasted nymphs to kneel at your feet and offer you delicacies off silver platters?"

I had to smile at the off-kilter idea as I marveled at my husband's ability to ask these things as calmly as he was displaying.

"You stop that. Stop harassing me. Right now."  "There's a difference between harassing and joking," Steven told him. "Did you ever learn that, Em?"

"I learned plenty in high school from guys like him," Emery indicated Nick. "And you, too."  "C'mon, give it a rest, boys. Emery, I may be able to provide you with something more to your liking later."

"Well.... in the meantime, Joyce," Cathy piped up, smiling. "I wanna hear more about the actress!"

"Aah. Yes. Well, that's her," Joyce pointed to a photograph on the wall, nestled in amongst all the thousands of others. All faces that had graced Rose Red with their presences. The actress was beautiful: long, raven hair, dark eyes, a gorgeous mouth and a stellar body, to match. "Deanna Petrie was her name. She was a fairly big star in the nineteen-forties. She did musical comedies, mostly. Deanna could sing a little, dance a little..... and she was sexy as hell. She was also one of Ellen's favorite guests at the parties. In nineteen-forty-six, she showed up in what Hedda Hopper called '_the_ cocktail dress.' It was what she was wearing when she disappeared. Most of her night was spent in the billiard room, with other guests, and when she disappeared, she left behind one earring, found by a maid the next day. Deanna Petrie's disappearance is what made Rose Red's reputation. And, Annie...... if you're done eating, I want to show you something. I know you'll like it." Joyce glanced at Sissy, who nodded, and so the professor led the young girl to a small set of stairs, maybe only three or four up, against the back wall of the beautiful room. This wall was paneled in nothing but rectangular pieces of deep polished wood, where the other walls were papered with beautiful and elegant designs. Everyone got up to follow them; our curiosity was piqued, as well.

"Is it dangerous?" Sissy asked.

"Not at all," Joyce answered her assuredly.

"Annie," Nick whispered. She turned. Nick put up his hands the same way they'd done with the wall in the hallway, and then he smiled at her and gave her the thumbs up. So the girl did just that. She put her hands up against the wall, against each wooden panel, and pushed. Finally one gave. The bottom slid back into the wall, and then the entire panel slid down and out of sight to reveal a viewfinder. Kneeling over, Annie peered in.

"Whatever in the world is it?"

"Whatever it is, she likes it."

The day started to wind down shortly thereafter. We stayed downstairs in the living room and the billiards room mostly, keeping each other company. At first, we all sat around and talked for awhile, but as the conversations fizzled out, other activities were discovered. At first, I started practicing my levitation. Nick sat by and we chatted as, lounging back in an old chair, I spun a set of books in the air above me. I scared the shit out of Sissy when I lifted the lamp next to her while sitting on the other side of the room. Pam found books to devour, as did Vic and Cathy; they read the bible, mostly, and when I joined Pam, we stuck to the classics. I immediately whipped out the first book with the name Shakespeare I could find printed on its spine. Sissy and Annie were working on dominoes, Joyce was toying with her equipment, Steven was playing pool. Nick went off to explore the various artifacts strewn pleasantly about the room, and Emery was playing the organ.

"Emery," I looked up from Hamlet, intrigued. "You play beautifully."

The positive comment caused him to falter a bit, and he stopped, not saying anything for a moment. "Thank you." He then continued on.

"No corporal presence in six centuries, no psychic pulse." Nick's voice floated towards me. He was talking to Joyce as she passed, referring to the old suit of armor in front of him. He then turned and grew serious. "Emery, are you thinking of dressing for dinner?"

Emery stopped playing and got up, scowling at him for interrupting. "You tell me. Read my mind."

I started. How did he know about that? Surely..... no. I shook my head. Maybe Nick just flat out told him.

"Annie!" Sissy called from the main entryway. She and Steve were looking through a dingy box they'd found in the closet, and Sissy held up an old record. "Glenn Miller!"

The girl made a bee-line for her sister, and then the record player.

"Ooh, that doesn't work," Joyce moaned apologetically. "I checked it while setting up today. Sorry, Annie."

Annie disregarded Joyce, fiddling with the machine anyway. She started turning the bar on the side and the doorbell chimed then, much to everyone's surprise. "Aha!" Joyce grinned, making her way for the door. Cathy and Vic got to their feet, concerned, as Nick and I threw each other questioning glances.

"It's okay," she reassured us, so we, curiously, followed her out. Steve, hot on her heels, pulled the door open to reveal a pizza delivery guy, loaded with the goods.

"Oh," I sighed, grabbing my rumbling stomach. I grinned. "Pizza! Joyce, you're the best."

"Hey, I've got two loaded pizzas for, uh..." The driver checked the receipt. "Reardon, with two six-packs of sodas."

"Yep, that's us. Thanks," Joyce took the food, handing the pizza to Emery and the drinks to Sissy. "I told you, Emery, that there might be something you'd like better."

"Loaded," he grinned. "Excellent."

Without warning, the sounds of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" filled the house, and Annie, looking triumphant and very sure of herself, came around the corner to stand smiling at us. I started laughing. "Annie," I called to her. "You're brilliant, you know that?"

"Oh, this is lovely!" Cathy giggled, and there was a hand on my arm. The owner whirled me around to dance, and I laughed again when I saw the devious little smile creep its way across Nick's face. People started pairing up: Vic asked Pam, Cathy and Sissy danced, and Steve went to Annie to dance with her. Within moments, I looked back at Steven and Annie, and to my shock, they were three feet up in the air!

"Oh!" I gasped. "Nick, look!" We didn't stop dancing but we were watching as Annie and Steve spun and floated like dolls on a mobile.

"She's terrific," Nick laughed, calling out for Sissy.

Sissy grinned. "Well.... there's never a dull moment with her."

---------

MUSIC

I listened to "In the Mood" incessantly while writing the dinner scene to help me get…. well, in the mood! :D


	34. Moonlight Serenade

IN THE MOOD  
Chapter 34: Moonlight Serenade

We broke to eat after "In the Mood," and then got up again to dance. Most of us made it through another three songs, switching partners every song; it was so much fun to just let loose with the new friends we'd made. After dancing with Steve for a song, I was leaning against the table in the main hall, watching Steve go to Sissy for the next dance, and I smiled at the sweetness of it all. It was then, as the sounds of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" filled the house, I felt a hand on mine.

"Mrs. Hardaway?" It was Nick. He took up my hand and kissed it. "May I have this dance?"

"You're in luck, sir," I grinned as my husband pulled me in towards him. "I've only one spot left on my dance card, I'm afraid."

"Well it looks as if I've come to you just in time, then," he smiled. We were the last ones dancing, aside from Sissy and Steve; the others had retired to the living room to rest by the fire. Nick and I kept dancing for what seemed like ages.

It was when I was leaning against him, resting my head on his chest, that the exhaustion hit. I could have fallen asleep right there. "Mmm....." I shook my head.

"You alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I just--" I yawned, covering my mouth. "I'm so sleepy."

"C'mon, then. Let's go in with the others."

Finding an empty sofa in the living room, I collapsed, and Nick was right behind me. He sat down next to me, and as I put my head in his lap he drew in his jacket around me. It was a dangerous thing, really; I didn't want to fall asleep right there. Cathy started to worry about Bollinger.

"Oh, he'll turn up," Emery told her.

"And speaking of which, where's Vic?" Pam asked.

"Right here." Vic's voice found us as he walked into the room with a smile on his face. "Anyone care to dance?"

"Oh, not me; I'm pooped," Pam smiled. "Where were you?"

"I lost my book." He held it up.

"So.... Joyce," I nestled up against Nick further, smiling. "How about one more story before bed, hmm?"

"Yes," Nick agreed. "Tell us about Mr. Posey, Rimbauer's business partner."

Joyce nodded. "In nineteen fourteen, the war in Europe was heating up the economy. Omicron Oil was in clover, and the money was rolling in. But John Rimbauer was tired of sharing it. In October of that same year, he gave Douglas Posey the bum's rush."  "According to family legend, um...." Steve cleared his throat and shifted in his seat next to Joyce. "Uncle Posey had a taste for cowboys."

"Ah. He liked chaps in chaps," Nick kept a straight face, but across the room, Cathy smiled. "Was he into roping, or branding?"

I laughed, swatting Nick, and he smiled at me. "You are positively indecent," I told him.

"Yeah," Steve chuckled. "Probably a little bit of both."

"John Rimbauer bought him out at distress sale prices, and told him never to come back to Rose Red..... but he did, once, in nineteen-fifteen, while John was in Europe and Adam and April were at home with their mom. Apparently Posey hung himself in front of the fireplace here. He tossed Adam his cowboy hat, and to April, he tossed a rose. He then slipped the noose around his neck and kicked out the chair."

"Granddad never forgot Posey tossing him that Tom Mix hat. He wanted to keep it and threw a fit when his mother took it away. And he never forgot that rose, either."

"Why here?" Sissy asked. "Why a year later?"

"If you wanted answers, you came to the wrong place."

"After that, John and Ellen kept Adam out of Rose Red as much as possible. They sent him to boarding school shortly thereafter."

"Yeah, my family tends to keep away from this place. I've been here only a half-dozen times, and only once did I ever go off alone, and I was eight at the time."

"Wait," Joyce puzzled. "I thought your father--"

"My father hated this place. He feared it. It was my mother that brought me. I forgot until today; Nick reminded me, actually. Mom probably couldn't find a babysitter. She was looking for loot, but I think she was drunk. She so often was in those days. After we lost the oil company, we were completely broke."

"So while Mum was treasure hunting, you got lost?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, it- it was no big deal, but--"

I sat up. I could tell by the look on Steve's face Nick was getting to something.

"You were upstairs before you realized where you were, one floor above the mirror library. Or was it three? Ten? Because when this place gets going, when it's feeling lively, when it has energy to draw upon, it can make itself as big as it wants, can't it? And finally, you got to the top, and that's when--"

He was cut off by the doors slamming shut; I nearly jumped clear out of my skin as everything around us began to shake. The lights started to flicker and spark, and soon, the sparks were showering down around us. I shielded my face.

Joyce was up in a flash, checking her equipment. "What is it, do you know?" she shouted over the racket. Pam nearly fell over the coffee table in her confusion and fear, and I raced to catch her.

"I gotcha, Pam!"

"It's a cluster manifestation!" Nick called out to Joyce. "It's like an earthquake!" He shouted for me then.

"I'm alright! I'm right here."

"The house is coming alive!" Cathy wailed.

"No telemetry readings, no..... no nothing! No readings whatsoever!" Joyce cried out, furiously going over her equipment again and again. "Dammit!"

The biggest spark of all ignited straight above us then, and I screamed. Nick was on me in a second, shielding me.

"Oh, God, why won't it stop?!" I howled.

"There are so many of them here, Joyce!" Cathy shouted. "I can feel them!"

Glancing over Nick's arm to the others, I found Emery at the fireplace, just as freaked as the rest of us. He turned to face the fireplace in time-- the flames leap out at him and knock him flat on his back. In a split second, everything stopped, and the only light source in the room was the fire in the fireplace. Nick clung to me tightly as we looked around in confusion.

It was so quiet, even after the craziness we'd just seen. "Liza? You alright?" Nick looked at me.

"I-- I'm fine," I nodded, still a little frazzled. Emery was on his back, panting, when suddenly, an antique little wicker bassinet on wheels came rolling out in front of the fire. Emery flipped over onto his hands and knees, bolting up to glance inside. There was a rag doll, much like the one Annie had brought with her, amongst boxes of dominoes. Annie, thrilled to have a companion for her doll, snatched the new one, against her sister's wishes.

"Do you--" Pam cocked her head. "Wait, do you hear that?"

"Summer Place." Sissy nodded, and her voice dropped. "Annie's favorite song."

And then there it was again-- that same blue light that had appeared to us in the Mirrored Library earlier in the day. It shone upwards and outwards, with the slight indication of a face in there.

"Annie......"

The girl's eyes went wide again in anticipation, and she reached out for the little voice. But that time, Steven was ready. He picked up a glass from dinner and chucked it straight for the light, and it worked-- the blue light disappeared, the electricity came back and the doors swung open.

"I'd advise none of you to go wandering tonight," Joyce smiled. "You'd agree, Steve?"

"As a matter of fact, I would."

------------

MUSIC:

Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade," of course..… :) It's a beautiful song!


	35. Two

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 35: Two

It was bedtime then. We parted ways, split sleeping arrangements. The guest bedrooms were all along the first floor, kept tightly together around the kitchen and main entry. The first hallway at the end of the main entry, the one that shot out to the left, had four bedrooms, and Nick and I got the last one. It was a smaller hallway than what the rest of the house was used to, and we were lucky to have our own bathroom connected to our room. I stood in the hot shower that night, not knowing what to think of the day's events. I'd dealt with haunted people before, but never houses, and I had no idea what to expect.

I immediately brushed my teeth when I got out. _Ugh, no more pizza breath,_ I thought, relieved. I dried off and, drawing the towel around me, stepped into the bedroom to look through my bag for some pajamas. To my surprise, the bedroom was empty.

"Nick?"

Fishing an old, over-sized t-shirt from my bag, I pulled it on and poked my head into the cold hallway. "Nick!"

"Here I am."

"Jesus!" I jumped, and Nick chuckled. My eyes had no time to adjust to the darkened hall; he'd been walking for our room and I'd barely seen him. "Where were you?" I opened the door to let him in.

"Just getting my bag, darling; I'm sorry if I scared you," he smiled at me, leaning in for a kiss.

"Oh....." I sighed, putting a hand to my heart. "It's fine." I began to laugh. "This house is making me jump at even the slightest thing."

"Even if it weren't haunted, I think the architecture itself would be enough to induce nightmares."

"Indeed," I chuckled, following Nick into the bathroom, which was still warm from my shower, and Nick left his suitcase there. I leaned against the counter, wiping away some of the fog that had collected on the mirror, and it was then I felt Nick's strong hands on my hips, making me gasp. He kissed my ear, my neck. "Are you tired yet?" he murmured.

I giggled, leaning against him as he kissed me again. "I have the sneaking suspicion this is a trick question."

"Now, what in the world gave you that idea, hmm?" He spun me around, and I had just enough time to see that devious little grin return before he kissed me fully on the lips.

My second wind had just kicked in, and sleep did not find us for some time.

"Hey, have you seen this, baby?" I pointed to the camouflaged door in the kitchen that had been left ajar, revealing the walk-in closet filled with wine bottles. I pulled out my camera and snapped a picture. I'd brought it with me because I just loved to document everything.

"My goodness," Nick smiled. "You really have made a discovery." He stepped inside, gazing around for a moment before shuddering. "It's freezing."

"Come on." I grabbed his hand. "I'm getting something to drink-- something other than champagne."

I managed to whip together some coffee then, and we wandered around the bottom floor, exploring the old, strange house. But it wasn't long before we found Emery, arguing with the phone in one of the front hallways. He slammed down the receiver into the cradle. "Argh!"

"Any luck?" Nick asked.

"No. The lines are down." Emery collapsed into one of the chairs, and Nick sat next to him. "My mother's probably going crazy, and it's not a very long trip for her, even at the best times."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, well..... I'm thinking about getting out of here before she can show up. I'm getting very tired of her.... showing up." Emery made a face. "Rimbauer gets on my nerves. Joyce, too, actually. 'If you look to your left, you will see the ghosts of April Rimbauer and Douglas Posey! Don't worry, they're completely harmless!'" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You know what? Under that phony, tour-guide shtick, she's as crazy as the Red Queen. Off with their heads, huh?"

"Yeah," I couldn't help but chuckle. "Joyce is..... her own breed of strange, I'll give you that much."

"And that creepy kid with that creepy doll....."  "Oh, Em, come on....." I shook my head, and Nick made a face of disapproval.

"What? She's creepy!"

Nick sat and stared at him silently; Emery glanced at him and then at me. "W-what, does he do this often?" He turned back to Nick. "Is this your shrink routine?"

"Just let it off your chest," Nick patted his arm.

"Huh." Emery sighed. "Dead cell, huh? You wanna know something? Last night I woke up in bed with a dead actress next to me!"

"Deanna Petrie!"

"Yeah. It didn't last long, but it was a very.... physical manifestation. I'm getting tired of Rose Red's little tricks. If my mom doesn't hear from me, she's gonna go nuclear."

"Well." I sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved. I'm back to the kitchen to see what I can do about breakfast. How about you boys?"

"I'll join you," Nick smiled.

Emery shook his head. "I can't think about food right now. I think I'm gonna..... shoot some pool in the other room maybe. Cool off."

"Suit yourself," I smiled. "Be safe."

We arrived back in the kitchen to find the door to the solarium cracked, and I could hear a voice, humming. Peering out, I saw Annie sitting on the stone path, her dolls in her lap, surrounded by dominoes. I smiled.

"Good morning, Annie," Nick smiled warmly at her, and although she smiled back, she covered her face with her hands shyly and didn't say a word. "Alright then."

I began to scour the fridge for something to work with. "Bacon, eggs..... we got everything, baby." I smiled.

"Well, then, let's get this going."

I put the eggs on and started some bacon, as well, and Nick hoisted himself up on the tile counter-top; we chatted for awhile as I cooked.

"I finally told Phil that if he wanted to do that one, we'd have to add another Aerosmith song to the set, as well. I just feel like we need to stick to our roots sometimes, you know?"

"Liza....."

I glanced up from the cooking to look at Nick, who'd fallen silent the last few moments and finally spoken again with my name. He was hyper focused on something, staring off into the wall. It seemed he was listening for something.

"What's up, babe? Is everything--"

"Sssshh," he quieted me calmly.

"You hear something," I whispered.

"Turn off the stove," he nodded, and I complied immediately.

"What is it?"

"Shh, shh!"

I stood silently then, letting him hear. He came to stand directly in front of me, listening hard. "There's someone else in this room with us."

The words sent chills through me. "Oh, my God..... You mean, like-- like Ellen?"

"No, no," he waved the idea away, focusing. "What I mean is, I can hear your mind's wavelengths like I can hear hers. A-and his, too. Which means they're in this room with us, and they're amongst us living."  "Wha.... well, Annie--"

"No, I'm not talking about Annie. They....." Nick placed his hands on my stomach, and that's when it came to him. He fell to his knees in front of me then. "Oh, Liza."

"Nick?! What is it?"

My husband looked up at me, and he was beaming. "They're here," he whispered, and put his hands back on my stomach.

The proverbial Mack truck slammed into me then, knocking the air straight from my lungs. "Oh, God, honey, am I......?" I shook, my hands flying to my mouth.

Nick nodded. I can't describe to you the feeling I was hit with. It was amazing, exquisite, terrifying and beautiful. I was going to be a mother, and Nick was going to be a father. I started to cry as Nick wound his arms around my waist and leaned his ear against my belly, listening to our little girl and her brother, the tiniest of things, growing inside of me.


	36. Strange Things

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 36: Strange Things

Nick was back up on his feet; we were drying our tears of joy and hugging each other, and as I turned back to the stove to finish cooking, he put his arms around me. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too, baby."

The door swung open then, and it startled me.

"Morning, guys." It was Steve. He stopped and looked from me to Nick and back again. "You two okay?"

"We're great, Steve, yeah," I beamed.

Steve smiled and pulled on the flannel shirt he had with him, glancing out to the Solarium. "Is that Annie humming?"

"Annie, it is," Nick nodded. "Would you like some breakfast? I could whip something together, no problem."

"Oh, that won't be necessary, but thank you, Nick. Hey, have either of you seen Joyce?"

"Yeah," I nodded, shutting off the stove and serving out two plates of food. "She's out front, fiddling with her equipment. She looks exhausted."

"Indeed. And looking as if she last had a good night's sleep circa nineteen-seventy-two. I'd tread carefully if I were you."

"She's crabby?"

"Very. The video from last night was cloudy, the audio garbled.... no recorded telemetry of any use, I'm afraid."

It was then Steve noticed the wine cellar. Apparently, I'd forgotten to close the door from earlier in the morning. "What's that?" Steve asked, going over to the little room to poke around some.

"Oh," I grinned. "That's the wine cellar. Isn't it marvelous?"

"The door was open when we came down this morning," Nick told Steve. "Haven't you seen it before? Liza, you go ahead and eat." Nick got up and went to join Steve at the cellar door.

"No, never before," Steve answered Nick's question.

"Rose Red hasn't just woken up, it's become House and Garden's variant of Frankenstein's monster."

"That's ridiculous." Steve shook his head.

"Is it? Listen."

I looked up from my plate and strained my ears. It wasn't long before the sounds of building reached them.

"She's building again." I was surprised to hear it so early.

"Have you heard much of that?" Steve asked us.

"Enough to worry me," Nick nodded. "And Bollinger's persistent non-appearance worries me, as well. You'd think if he were still here-- here, and alive, I mean-- we would have seen him, don't you?"

"I have no idea." Steve began browsing the bottles as the two talked.

"And the longer we go without reporting him missing, the more peculiar it becomes, especially if he turns up dead-- or not at all."

Steve finally pulled out one of the bottles. "Dom Perignon, nineteen-forty-nine. It's a very good year."

"In my experience, they're all good years," Nick chuckled, taking the champagne to the counter and pulling down two glasses. Steve popped the cork. "Steve, would you like a glass?"

"Oh, no thanks." He turned to me. "What about you, Liza?"

Nick grinned at me. "None for you, I'm afraid."

"Nope," I grinned back. "Not for at least another nine months."

Steve stared at me, putting the pieces together. "Oh, my God, guys, why didn't you tell me? That's great!"

"Well, um--" I cleared my throat, making a face. "We just found out, like-- today, just found out. As in, minutes before you walked in, sort of a thing."

"But-- phone lines are down. How...."

I pointed to Nick. "Psychic."

"Oh, that is creepy, man....." Steve laughed, and the two of them came to sit at the table with me. Nick pulled up the chair next to me, sliding an arm around my waist.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Steve," Nick laughed, too. "Thank you."

"Here, Liza," Steve reached out towards me. "Let me take your picture."

"Wha...?" I laughed.

"What? Hey!" Steve laughed, too. "It's a happy day, you guys! Come on! Picture!"

I handed him the camera, and he took the shot just as I was laughing and Nick was kissing my cheek. It was perfect.

"Thank you," I giggled, pocketing the little camera.

"My pleasure."

We ate for a few moments before Nick turned the conversation to the house. "You know, Steve, this place is feeding off us, and although I'm sure it finds us all rather tasty, its primary sources of nourishment are little Annie... and you, too."

"Me? I'm not telepathic."

"Well, I don't know what you were before you came here, but I know now you're a powerful psychic transmitter, operating on Rose Red's wavelength. It almost had you once; it wants you back. It wants Annie, too."

"Oh, you're crazy."

"Crazy? Maybe. But I vouch Joyce is crazier, and I think she means to have her proof, even if someone has to die for her to obtain it."

As soon as those words were out of my husband's mouth, cold air washed over me. I shuddered, drawing in my jacket in around me. "I agree with him, Steve," I nodded, rubbing my arms. "I don't like it any more than you do, but...."

"You're wrong, both of you." Reaching into his jeans pocket, Steve pulled out the cell phone recovered from the solarium the day before.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Trying to make sure Miller actually sent Bollinger here. If he did, I'll call the police and report him missing." He dialed the number and waited.

"Joyce may not like that," Nick shook his head.

"Well, according to you, she's not very happy anyway," Steve shrugged. "Hi, Professor Miller. Steven Rimbauer again. We were just checking in to see how Bollinger is doing. We actually wanted to clear up whether or not he came here on his own accord or if you sent him. Either way, it- it really doesn't matter, but.... we still need to talk. Call us back here. You must have the number; it's your cell phone." With that, Steve snapped the little phone shut. He handed Nick the phone. "You'll talk to him if he calls back?"

"I'd be delighted," Nick smiled.

"Great. Thanks." Steve got up and went out to join Annie and Sissy in the solarium. It was about then that Nick and I finished our breakfast, and as Nick cleared the plates, I went to stand at the window and look out over the gorgeous garden that was growing before our eyes. Steve was talking to Annie, and she picked up a Domino. Holding it in front of her, she focused, and within a second, the little rectangle was floating up above her, spinning and gliding through the air easily.

"Wow."

"What's up?" Nick's arms slid around my waist.

"Look at her, Nick."

We watched as the little Domino twisted and danced and finally came spinning down upon the rest of the Dominoes she'd set up in front of her. The spiral she'd created was destroyed from the outside in.

"She's incredible."

"Ugh," I threw myself back on the bed. "I wish I had my guitar with me." Gazing up at the ceiling, I studied the patterns of sunlight light that danced across the wooden paneling. We'd gone exploring enough that morning; waiting for Joyce to make up her mind as to what to do (much less come out of her grumpy state) was like waiting for grass to grow. I then remembered the good news from the morning, and my hands found my stomach.

Nick came from the bathroom to collapse on the bed next to me. He kissed my cheek, smiling. His voice was quiet as he intertwined a hand with mine. "Who do you think they will look like?"

"I think she's..... gonna look just like me, but with blonde hair and gray eyes like you. And he's gonna look exactly like you."

"Yeah, I think so, too." My husband grinned at me, leaning in to kiss me. I curled up in his arms. We were silent for awhile, enjoying each other's company and the idea of having children, when a name was on my lips.

"Her name is Margaret. Margaret Gwendolyn."

Nick lifted his head, smiling. "Oh?"

"I.... It just hit me. After Margaret Rachelle, a-and Gwen, too."

"Liza, I think it's perfect. We'll call her Maggie."

"Yeah..." I grinned. "Maggie."

"What about him?"

"Oh..... something will come to us, I'm sure."

Grinning, Nick leaned over and kissed me again, and I was positive that nothing could top that moment. I smiled, leaning into him.


	37. The Beginning is the End is the Beginnin

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 37: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

The both of us just about jumped clean out of our skin then when a scream ripped through the house, coming from the front. "Jesus Christ!" I swore loudly, throwing myself out of bed and nearly planting face into the wall. "What in God's name is that?!"

Nick bolted for the door and I was hot on his heels. We ran down the hall and through the main entry, around the corner and to the billiards room.

"Not there, not there, not there......" Emery, sitting on the window seat, had his ears covered and his eyes clamped shut.

"What's going on?" Nick raced for the window, and I looked out, too. Vic, still in his pajamas, was sprawled out on his back, lifeless.

"Oh, my God!" My hands flew to my mouth. "Vic!" I screamed. "Vic, get up! Come on!"

Nick ran for a pool queue, and when he came back, he pushed Emery away. "He came to you for help," he shouted. "And you turned your back on him! Elizabeth, call an ambulance, now!" Nick tried breaking the glass with the billiard queue. Emery, shaken, ran off.   I nodded, bolting for the phone. "Ooh, God...." I crossed my fingers. "Please, oh, please, tell me someone fixed this thing......" I dialed out and waited. Nothing. "Damn!" I slammed down the receiver, waited a moment, then tried again. Still, nothing. "Shit! Nick! The phones, they're still down!"

"What the hell is going on?!" Nick threw himself away from the still-intact window. "The panels won't break!"

"Oh, God!"

"I don't understand...."

I sniffled, my throat closing in on me as I joined him at the window. "Oh, my God, baby, is he-- is he really--?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Come on. We've got to find the others." Bolting for the main hallway, we nearly slammed head on into Cathy.

"What in the world is going on? What's all the yelling?"

"It's Vic," I cried. "I think he's dead!"

"What?!"

Steve and Joyce showed up then, with Sissy right behind them; everything was happening at the speed of light. "What, what's going on?"

"Th-they're saying Vic i-is dead!"

"Oh, God, Vic!" Sissy moaned.

"That's ridiculous," Joyce scoffed, accusative. "How can he be dead?"

"Joyce, get real!" Nick panted. "She said--"

"Thank God!!" Emery, panting hard, ran down the steps and back to join the group. He looked like he'd been through hell.

"You," Nick growled.

"You don't understand!" Emery cried; everything came out in a rush. "My mother is here, unless the house is imitating her. That may be the case, but the more I think about it, I- I just- and then I got lost! And I've seen things you wouldn't believe!"

"Not now, Emery!" Steve told him angrily.

"We shouldn't be here, not any of us! There's a bubble forming, I think, and--"

"What in the world would your mother be doing here?" Cathy asked him, perplexed.

"She worries about me. I'm worried about me, too, actually-- about all of us. Did I tell you I saw Pam upstairs? I think she's dead."

"What-- no!" I shrieked. Tears sprung to my eyes. "Pam!"

"Where's Annie?" Joyce asked Sissy in a rush.

"I- I don't-- uh...."

Joyce and Steve didn't wait for an answer; they few for the front doors. But try as they might, the doors wouldn't budge. "Argh," Steve cried. "They're stuck again."

"It's not just stuck," Emery called after him.

"Of course it isn't!" Nick cried.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Joyce howled as Steve went for the window.

"Emery," he called, pointing outside. "Is that your mother's car?"

Sissy and I rushed over with him and peered out. Sure enough, an old, light blue Volkswagen station-wagon was parked in the front driveway. A second car was right behind it. I recognized Emery's mother's car from the meeting earlier in the week.

"Yeah," Emery said sourly. "Mommy's Little Scootabout."

"W-what did you say?" Sissy did a double-take, and, although still in panic-mode, I managed to stifle a laugh.

"Mommy's Little Scoot-about, okay?! That's what she calls it. Sometimes we scoot about for ice cream, sometimes we scoot about to the movies, someti--" he stopped when he realized everyone was staring at him. "Stop looking at me!"

The faintest of smiles was tugging at Nick's mouth as he came to join me at the window, sliding an arm around my shoulders. "Well," he kissed my hair, then turned to gaze back out the window. "I think Momma's Little Scoot-about is blocking another car."

"Anyone in it?"

"Don't know," Nick squinted. "Can't tell."

"I'll go check the kitchen door," Steve told us. Sissy offered to go with him, and they ran off together.

"Steve!" Joyce called after him.

"Not now, Dee!"

I glanced up at Nick. "That night at the pub....." I whispered. Nick nodded, and he kissed my forehead.

"Nick, show us where Vic is," Cathy told us.

My husband and I led Joyce, Cathy, and Emery to the billiards room.

"I think he's there," Emery pointed to the window. "I didn't.... really see."

"Didn't really see?!" I glared at him.

Joyce gasped. "Oh! No!" She and Cathy pounded against the window, and after a moment, Joyce ran to the phone.

"I've already tried that," I called to her. "The lines are still down."

"Pam was in Ellen Rimbauer's room. She said things to me, bad things. I can't be sure, but when I see people like that, it usually means they're dead. This place will kill all of us if we're not careful. We were wrong to come."

Joyce turned to him. "That is a cowardly and mistaken thing to say." She pushed past him to get to the window. Joyce may have been a mite bit batty, but I could tell she was starting to slip a little. Emery was right. Joyce started to bang at the window again with her fists.

"Vic is dead, Pam is _probably_ dead, and _you_ need a reality check, lady."

Nick went to my old professor. "Joyce, I--"

"Leave me alone!" She growled, whirling around. Hatred shot from her eyes. It wasn't the old Joyce I knew, and I took Nick's arm.

"Sweetheart," I whispered, and he started to back up. "C'mere....."

There was a sound then, coming from the main entryway. Joyce was first out into the hallway, and we were all right behind her. She made a beeline for the front door.

"Joyce," I called after her. "I think we've already established that doesn't work."

Reaching for the doors, she pulled them open with no problem and turned back to us, smiling victoriously. "You were saying? See, just stuck. No big deal."

Emery ran outside, part frantic. "Mom, where _are_ you?" He muttered, and in an instant, he was off running.

"Well-- What about the glass from the billiards room? I mean, you and Nick both tried to break it and it wouldn't budge. You don't suppose it was stuck, too?"

"Ah... Who knows?" Joyce sighed, shrugging.

"Liza, darling," Nick called for me. I went over to him and he put an arm around me, drawing me close. "Listen to me, sweetheart, I have a very unpleasant feeling about this; it's only going to get worse from here. I want you to go into our room and get our things together. We're going to get out of here as soon as we can. Do you understand?"

I nodded vigorously.

"Alright. Go get our things and then leave them here by the front door. I'll wait for you. Off you go, love." I kissed him and went off running.

"Joyce, I was wondering if you could tell me........"

I made it to our room in record time, immediately running for the bathroom. I started throwing all our bathroom things into my arms; when I had everything, I dumped it all into my suitcase and zipped it up. Fortunately, other than toiletries, we were mostly living out of our suitcases. I zipped up Nick's, threw my purse over my shoulders, and grabbed up our things. I was back out the door in a matter of about three minutes.

When I came tearing down the hall, I found it empty, save for Nick, who stood waiting at the front door. The things were dropped and I hugged him. "Good girl," he grinned. "Now, to convince the others. They're in the kitchen."  "Let's hurry, shall we?"

We quickly went down the hall and when we were towards the end, Joyce and Cathy came from the kitchen. "Oh, there you two are," Cathy smiled. "Where did you run off to?"

"Just to grab a jacket from our room," I tugged at Nick's jacket I'd thrown on as I'd made the run to our room; Nick was in long sleeves, and so he let me use it that weekend. It was big on me, and it smelled like him. I loved it. "Any luck finding Annie?"

"No, none here. I hope Steve and Sister have had some luck. Let's go back up front and start from there."

The four of us made for the front doors again and as we were going down the front entry hall, Emery came running back inside, in a panic. "I saw Vic!"

"But he's de--"

"I know, I know, but he's another little Rose Red movie like Pam and Deanna Petrie. I also saw Miller."

"_Professor_ Miller?!"

"None other. Although I doubt the Dean of Arts and Sciences would recognize him. He's out there in the high grass, running around like a madman."

Joyce laughed. "You're lying."

"No, he's not," my husband told her quietly.

"That's right, I'm not. My mother's somewhere behind the house, but I can't get back there."  "Okay. Let's calm down, Emery."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Joyce! Not with what I've seen!"

"I'll call 911," Cathy offered, but Nick stopped her.

"I'd rather doubt it. Liza and Joyce both have tried and the lines are still down from this morning."

"Okay, alright." Joyce looked us over. "Let's all try to relax here, and--"

"Annie's had an accident!" Sissy came running in then, out of breath. "Please, come quick."

The four of us followed Sissy down to one of the many bedrooms in the house, where we found Annie lying out on a sofa as Steve tried to revive her. I went to crouch over Annie as Cathy immediately tried the phone.

"Oh, oh! This one works!" Cathy called triumphantly. "Whom should I call?"

"The cops!"

"An ambulance!"

"No-one!" Joyce cut in. "Not yet, anyway."

"Forget you, Joyce," Emery shook his head. "I'm outa here." And with that, Emery made a run for the exit.

"Joyce," Nick said quietly. "I, too, feel as if we should leave soon. The doors have opened, it would be a wise decision--"

There was a noise from behind me, a high-pitched, electrical whining. I turned to find Cathy making a face, and I realized it was coming from the phone. She frowned, putting the receiver back onto the cradle. "Oh, well."

The noise, albeit unpleasant, was what woke Annie. Her eyes opened, and she looked at Joyce, then at me, and back at Joyce.

"Annie? Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

The girl sat up slowly, and her eyes immediately found the two dolls that sat on the nearby table. She stared at them.

"Annie, what is it?" Joyce glanced at the dolls briefly but turned back to Annie.

A small smile turned the corner of Annie's mouth as she returned her gaze to Joyce. "We seldom have company at Rose Red these days. I insist you stay a little longer." When she spoke, the voice that was produced was not hers. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end; I rose to my feet and backed up towards Nick.

--------------

MUSIC:

Chapter named after and inspired by the song of the same name, preformed by the Smashing Pumpkins. This song can also be heard on the trailer for the film "Watchmen." I think it's a great song, one of a few I picked out, that depicts the unsettling fear that the group experiences while stuck in the house.

Other songs I was inspired by:

"When the World Ends (Oakenfold remix)" -- Dave Matthews Band

"New World in My View" by King Britt


	38. Insult and Injury

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 38: Insult and Injury

"Oh, my God." I reached for him and he grabbed my hand. The sounds of slamming doors and windows reverberated all over the house; I think most of us realized too late this meant we weren't going anywhere. My heart froze solid in my chest.

From the front of the house, a scream found us. "That's Emery!" Cathy cried, and we went running. Cathy, Steve, Nick and I sprinted for the front doors. Emery was sitting against them, breathing hard and clutching his left hand. His face was as white as a sheet, and blood spewed from the places where his fingers should have been. He had only his thumb left; it looked as if the door had taken them off when all of them went slamming shut.

"Oh, shit...." I covered my mouth as my stomach began to churn.

"Look what it did to me. Look what it did to me!" Emery showed Nick his hand as my husband knelt down next to him. "We've got to get out of here."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Emmers. C'mon, up you go."

Nick and Steve helped Emery into the billiards room, and he collapsed into one of the sofas. Cathy and I searched the kitchen for bandages as Steve and Nick checked on Vic. When we came back we immediately went to work, wrapping Emery's hand as best we could. I was surprised neither of us got sick, because it was definitely an awful wound. I was even more surprised to see Emery hadn't gotten sick or passed out, either. When Emery was all squared away, I searched through my purse for any medicine, and fortunately, I managed to fish out the remainder of a bottle of Ibuprofen from the bottom of my purse, left over from the summers before, when I'd been attacked. There were still twelve capsules inside, so I gave Emery the entire bottle.

Nick and Steve had come back from the window about then; Nick found a seat at the far end of another sofa, burying his face in his hands. I went over to him, crouching down in front of him and gently pulled his hands away, making him look at me. He always had been the strong one, but that day, there was sadness and fear etched across his face. He took my hands up in his and kissed them.

"I.... I don't know what to do," he whispered, his voice trembling.

"You don't have to do anything, my love," I told him. "You've done enough. Do you remember what Vic used to say?"

Nick smiled slightly, turning his head. "And what was that, exactly?"

"Be not afraid.... only believe. Believe that we will be okay."

He smiled fully at me, touching my cheek. "I love you, Elizabeth," he murmured.

"I love you, too." Sitting next to him on the couch, I lay down, resting my head in his lap. It was getting late; the sun was turning a deep shade of orange. It spread like fire across the far wall, consuming everything in its path. My heart fluttered. Piece by piece, my body tensed, as if anticipating a final blow. I held tight to my husband's hand as he leaned protectively over me, preparing for a night of which I knew one thing and one thing only was certain: come daybreak, nothing would ever be the same.

"Why won't Joyce bring Annie in here with us?"

Sissy turned to me and smiled slightly. "She's obsessed. I know." She sighed. "I'll go get them."

"No-- no, it's okay." Steve stopped her with a smile. "I'll go."

"Oh. O-okay, sure."

Steve stepped out, and Sissy turned to me with a shrug. I smiled at her.

"Liza?"

"Hmm?" I turned back to Nick. We were on our couch again; the sun had been down for a couple hours at that point, and we'd made time go a bit faster with books and quiet conversation; we were all too scared to do much else, for fear of aggravating the house again. Emery lay quietly on his couch. I'd changed his bandages three times since the accident. They soaked quickly, within thirty minutes, at least.

"Let's move to Catalina as soon as we're out of here. Start up that bed and breakfast."

I smiled at him. "You're sure? I mean, you're positive?"

"Absolutely," he nodded honestly. "I have never been so sure of anything. Well...." My husband smiled. "Save for the time I asked you to marry me, or.... or married you, _period_...."

"Ha-ha," I laughed, then gave a sigh. I took up his hand in mine. "Let's do it. As soon as we get home. We'll sell the house."

"Pack all our things."

"It'll be easy, you know."

"Very. You look for the property on the island, I'll apply for a car permit."

"And then, this summer, when we go visit my family, we can go out and investigate."

"Oh, it'll be marvelous."

"It'll be _perfect_. Can't you see the kids running through the fields, welcoming our guests? We'll get a St. Bernard to help take care of them."

"They'll be the best greeters ever." He and I really started laughing then. "How about a game of billiards, darling?"

"Now that _really_ sounds good," I nodded, still giggling.

We were ten minutes in to the game when Steven came back, accompanied by Joyce and Annie. Sissy was up, rummaging through her purse, looking for an extra deck of cards. Emery glared at Annie as the trio came in through the large double doors.

"I don't suppose you have any nail-polish in there, Sister."

Sissy looked at Emery, confused. "Um... no, I- I don't use it. Why?"

"Pour that into a handkerchief-- or drain cleaner. Use that on Annie, right under the nose, and bam, out like a light."

"What are you talking about?" Sissy gaped at him.

"I'm talking about survival, darling," he spat. "Did I stutter?"

"Wha-- well those things could kill her!"

"Oh, yeah! Gee!" Emery grinned sarcastically. His hands began to tremble; he was still white as a sheet, and he had broken a sweat. He turned to the professor. "Enjoying yourself, Joyce? Looking forward to visiting your colleague at the nut-barn soon? The house will try to take us tonight. One by one, or all together."

I shuddered at his words, stopping play for a moment. "I will not lose anyone else to this lunatic, filthy house, Emery. I don't care what Joyce's personal vendetta is. And something else: every time you open our mouth you say something unpleasant, so.... why don't you just be quiet?"

"And it's not just unpleasant," Cathy frowned. "It's wicked. Now, I realize you've had an accident, Emery, but--"

"An accident?! That's right, I had an accident." Emery laughed, holding up his hand. "Well, Unpleasant Emery knows a thing or two about our reporter friend."

"Bollinger? What?"

"Ooh, no. I don't think so. You wouldn't want to hear it from me. Every time I open my mouth, something wickedy-wicked comes out." Emery sneered at Cathy. "Why don't you tell them, Nick? I'm tired of being wicked. You do some of the dirty work."

Nick was about to shoot but he stood up, glancing from Emery to Steve and then to me.

"Do you know something?" Steve asked my husband. "Or is he just talking?"

"The mirror library, am I right?" Nick asked Emery.

"Yeah."

"Honey, what....."

"What about the mirror library?" Cathy's eyes narrowed.

Nick sighed. "Kevin Bollinger is dead. He brought Emery's mother into the house and then hung himself in the mirror library. It wasn't so much a suicide, as being..... Rose Red's latest victim."

"What about Mrs. Waterman?" Sissy asked.

"I can't see her," Nick told her. "Or Professor Miller. What about you, Emery?"

"I don't know, which means they're probably still somewhere around here. They're somewhere in this place."

"Place... a summer place..." Annie sang quietly to herself by the fire, playing with her dolls. Steve sat next to her, putting a hand on her back.

Joyce, seemingly spaced out and staring off into nowhere, got up then, glancing at Steve. "You wanted to talk? Come on, let's talk now. I've got to check on the--"

"Did you intentionally try to sacrifice us, Joyce?" Nick cut her off. "Or did you simply ignore the probability of our demise?"

"I don't know what you're--"

"Yes, you do." Nick kept his calm. "Or part of you does. Suppose you never get your proof. Did you ever think about that? Supposing the proof isn't here to get. What then? What if Rose Red is the psychic equivalent of the Energizer Bunny, where it keeps growing and growing--"

"Stop it! Stop it." Joyce chuckled. "You're crazy." She turned to us, her eyes wild. "Can't you see he's crazy?"

Anger boiled up in my stomach. "My husband isn't crazy, Joyce!" I spat. "You need to listen to him."

"Obviously, he's nuts," she continued, aggravated and ignoring me, going for Steve and putting her head on his shoulder. He stared at Nick, knowing he was right.

_WHAM._ The queue ball Nick had been holding was down on the table, and forcefully. When he spoke again, his voice was dangerously calm. "I am _not_ crazy. I am a mind reader. That's why you called me here. Now, _SIT DOWN!"_

Joyce's eyes were wide. He'd gotten through. She sank down into the nearest chair, and Nick crouched down next to her. "Now you listen to me. Rose Red won't let you have what you want. Not any of us. Ellen Rimbauer designed it to break hearts as hers was broken. To hurt as she was hurt."

"Well, then we have to get out of here, before it...."

"What, kills us?" Nick glanced at Cathy. "A real death would be merciful. Because I doubt if poor old Vic is really dead. And that's the worst of it, the very worst."

"So how do we get out?" I asked, coming over to stand closer to the group. I left the pool queue on the table.

"There aren't any secret tunnels," Steve told me. "None that I know of, at least."

"Oh, wake up!" Emery rolled his eyes and pointed at Annie with his good hand. "She's the one keeping us locked in."

"You leave her alone!" Joyce glared at him.

"Losing his fingers has affected his mind," Cathy stood up for him. "You mustn't hold it against him, Joyce."

"Oh, wake up, sweetheart. Wake up, all of you!" Emery cut in. "The house has locked us in when she's awake, then when she knocked herself out, everything opened up again. It was like a cramp letting go. We could have gotten away then, had we known. But one of us _did_ know. They understood. You, Joyce. And when the little bitch woke up--" He let out a gasp, clutching his hand. "I can't. My hand hurts too much. You know as much as I do, Nick. You tell them the rest."

"Huh," Joyce scoffed. "Tell us he's insane, start with that."

"But he's not." Nick got to his feet. "Why did you want psychics and telekinetics and automatic writers here in the first place? It was to recharge a cell that was never really dead, merely dormant. Now, we have all played our part, I think, and personally, right now, I'd like very much to get myself and my wife and our friends out of here as soon as possible. But Annie.... she's been the key in all of this. And what Emery doesn't understand is that Steve has been key in all of this, too."

Steve perked up at the sound of his name.

"Steve?" Joyce's eyebrows raised in surprise, then she gave an amused chuckle. "Well... he's about as psychic as a ham sandwich."

"Please be quiet, Joyce," my husband insisted calmly, but Joyce, furious, was on her feet in a second to face him.

"How _dare_ you tell me to shut up!"

I was shocked at how quickly I put myself in front of Nick, cutting him off from Joyce-- it seemed like not even a half-second. There was a sound then, snarling, the sound of an offended animal. I was shocked to discover it was coming from me.

"You leave him alone," I growled. Every set of eyes in the room were on me, even Annie's. The silence in the room was deafening, apart from the sound of my voice, filled with fire, and the sound of my heart, slamming against the walls of my chest. "He is trying to help you and all you're doing is cutting him back down."

Joyce's eyes were wide as she gaped at me. There was a strong hand on my shoulder. "Liza..." Nick whispered. "It's alright, darling."

"I'm so tired of her crap," I whispered back as he guided me away.

"Joyce," Sissy was the first of the others to find their voice. "He asked you.... to be quiet. Not to shut up."

"And do it!" Cathy insisted fiercely. "Please. I-- I wanna hear this, I wanna hear what Nick has to say."

With that, Joyce sat back down, resigned, and Nick, crouching down next to her once again, continued.

"Everyone has some psychic capacity, Joyce. I've read your books and articles. You used to know that, before all this psychic superstar infatuation stuff." Joyce leaned forward as she listened, putting her face in her hands. "And I know that Miller isn't the only imagination-challenged idiot you've had to deal with. But you've become blinded and misguided."

"I have not become blinded," Joyce quietly insisted, throwing him a sidelong glance.

"Whatever Steve's ability in the outside world, here in Rose Red, it's amplified to the power of ten because he's blood. Ellen's blood. You said it yourself, Steve, you're the last of the Rimbauers."

"Look, tell it anyway you want, but I'm not the one holding the doors shut and turning the window glass into...... I don't know, whatever it is now."

"Of course you're not! Ellen's doing it. Through Annie, and also through you! And don't try to sit there and tell me you don't know it or at least sense it--"

"She's not doing anything through me! I don't sense that, I--" Steve stopped mid-sentence, struck by something. I took one look at Nick and knew he was picking it up.

"Nick," I leaned over and whispered. "What's he seeing?"

"It-- it's a false memory," Steve finally piped up. "The house planted it."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked him.

"No. No, I'm not."

"Well, for the time being," Emery finally piped up. "Let's stick to the kid. We take her out of the equation and the doors still don't open, well, we'll worry about Rimbauer then."

Joyce stared at Emery. Getting down on her knees next to Annie, she put her arms around the girl and glared at the injured young man. "No-one will hurt this child!"

"Wha--" Cathy smiled soothingly. "Well, of course they're not!"

"And there's the rub: we're in trouble, ladies and gentlemen." Nick was back on his feet. "Big trouble."


	39. Mrs Waterman

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 39: Mrs. Waterman

I sat at the back of the room, watching Annie play with her dolls. _How in the world are we to make her understand? _I thought. _Does she even know what she's doing?_ I had known these people for three days collectively and already I felt as if I'd known them a lifetime. I cared for the young girl with the ability to spin dominoes; Pam had been the girlfriend to bounce girly thoughts off of that I'd been yearning for since Gwen died. Vic had been the wise sage. Cathy was the second mother, Steve and Sissy were the lovable cousins, and Emery..... well, as nasty as Emery could be, I knew that if he survived this, he'd be all the better for it. Joyce..... I didn't know what to think of Joyce anymore. I hated to see the blindness in her eyes, the "tunnel vision" that subsequently blocked out the vision of the other lives she was in charge of. I always knew she was a very dedicated woman, but, like Nick had said, that dedication had turned to obsession, blindness and ignorance. It was like being passenger to a drunk and blindfolded driver; it terrified me to think our lives were in her hands, essentially.

A quiet voice was next to me. "Are you really going to start a bed and breakfast?" Cathy was smiling.

"Hmm? Oh," I laughed quietly. "Yeah. I think we are." I turned back to watch Annie as Cathy took a seat next to me. "It's an idea I've been playing with for a couple of years now, and..... well, I think being this close to death has got me thinking about my life, you know? What would you do differently if you could get back into the real world?"

"We're all scared, honey." Cathy patted my hand. "And your bed and breakfast sounds delightful. I'll have to make it a point to come check it out once you two get it squared away."

"You can be our first customer," I smiled. "What are you gonna do, once you're out of Rose Red?"

"Oh...." Cathy sighed. "I really have no idea." She started to laugh then. "I suppose we'll just have to see."

"Do you have family? I mean, don't you have a husband and grandchildren back home?"

"My husband passed away two years ago, and..... well, my son and daughter and their families all live in Southern California, so..... I think I'll visit them."

"Oh? What part?"

"My son is in Long Beach and my daughter lives in Corona del Mar."

"I grew up in Newport Beach," I grinned.

"How lovely!" Cathy grinned. "So you know the area fairly well."

I nodded.

"You know, you and Nick are lucky to have each other."

"Thank you," I smiled. "He's a good man."

"Yes, he is. You two take care of each other."

"We do, yes," I chuckled. "He's.... he's got a huge heart. He just loves people. He's my rock, man. You know? I don't know where I'd be without him."

"Well, he adores you. It doesn't take a psychic to tell you that. I can look at him, watch him watching you, and it's so apparent. He'd do anything for you."

"I know," I whispered. I could feel my throat closing in on me, the surefire sign that tears were close behind, and I had no idea why. The tears finally escaped. "Cathy...." I sniffled.

"Oh, honey.... What is it?"

"We're not gonna make it. I can feel it. Something's gonna happen, I just-- I just know it. I'm so scared."

"Well of course you are! We all are. You're afraid not only for your life, but your husband's life, too. You just gotta keep your chin up, honey. I'm scared, too. I'd love nothing more than to just run screaming from those nasty doors right this second." She smiled, and it made me laugh.

"Yeah," I sniffled, wiping my nose on the Kleenex she'd offered me. "Me, too. Thanks." My eyes returned to Annie for the first time in awhile to find Emery sitting directly across from her. I gasped.

"Hey," Emery said to her. "You wanna play a little game, Annie? You take ten or twelve real deep breaths, then you sit and breathe on your thumbs, and you'll get real floaty and then you'll go up to the North Pole, where you'll get to see Santa and his eight tiny little reindeer! The rest of us, meanwhile--"

"Stop it!" Sissy cried.

"--will scurry out of here like the good little mice we are."

"It's not funny."

"Neither is this!" He pointed to his hand. "Tell you what, Sissy, let's find some dry cleaning bags so we can wrap her up just until she passes out. Or.... pinch her nose shut."

"Oh, shut up, Emery!" I wailed. It wasn't helping my tears dry any. "Just stop it!"

Emery ignored me, instead turning to my husband, who was seated feet away. "How about you, handsome? You're the utility infielder of this little brigade. Can you knock her out with your mind? Five minutes would be enough for us to make like bees and buzz." With that, he was up on his feet. "Hell, _three_." He went over to sulk at the billiards table where Nick and I had left our game unfinished.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor between Sissy and Annie, Nick put a hand on Annie's shoulder and focused. "I can't see her thoughts, but...... it's the most peculiar thing, they're--"

"They're high," Steve finished for him.

"Yes. High above me, as if she were a princess in a tower. And she's waving, but there's no way to reach her. A-at least, not for me." Nick glanced up at Steve, but he was staring at Annie, who was ignoring everyone. All of a sudden, she looked Nick directly in the eye. If I hadn't known better, I'd have guessed he'd called her name.

Nick smiled at her. "What are we going to do with you, little sister? Hmm?"

"How about this," Emery turned, a red and white billiard ball in hand. "Back of the head, above the nape of the neck is the best place. Hit her hard, lights out. Hit her harder....."

"Oh, you ugly man!" Sissy was on her feet, crying and shouting. I myself got up, too, as she yelled at him, and made my way over, in case there was anything I could do. "You disgusting little troll!" She ripped the ball from his hand.

"Don't tell me you've never thought of it. Come on! Do yourself a favor, do us _all_ a favor. Back of the head, or do you want to spend the rest of your life wiping your kid sister's ass?"

"Stop it! Just stop it." Crying, Sissy collapsed back on the sofa.

It wasn't until then we noticed Cathy up and going for the door. Nick stopped her. "Where are you going, Cathy?"

"Oh.... just getting a glass of iced tea. I saw a nice big pitcher of it in the fridge." She seemed jittery; fidgeting with her flashlight, she finally got it on, except it was directed right at her face. The sudden light in her eyes made her jump. "Oh!"

"You shouldn't go alone," Steve recommended.

"I'm not," she told him. "God goes with me. Everywhere." With that, she turned and breezed out of the room.

Nick was at my side then, smiling reassuringly at me. "Are you alright, darling?"

"Um.... considering? I don't know," I shook my head. "I wanna go home."

"I know, love. I do, too. Come here...." Nick pulled me towards him in a hug, and I clung to him tightly. He kissed my cheek.

"Cathy shouldn't be out there alone, Nick, I...."

"You're right. I'm going after her," Nick turned to tell Steve.

"Wait--" I grabbed his arm. "I'm going with you."

"Liza, I-- I think it's safest if you stay here with the group. They--"

"Please." I cut him off, and my voice dropped to a whisper. "_I want to go with you._"

Nick sighed. "Fine. But you need to stay with me at all times, do you understand?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright. Come on."

We both grabbed our flashlights and as we finally came upon the kitchen, I could distinctly hear something going on inside. It was dark, and it worried me. I let the beam of my light fall to the floor of the kitchen to find Emery's mother trying to strangle Cathy.

"Oh, my God, Cathy!"

"Excuse me," Nick called. "Would you mind awfully letting her go?"

Mrs. Waterman looked up at him and yelled, continuing to strangle poor Cathy. She looked an absolute mess; bloody nose, dirt everywhere.

"I guess not," Nick murmured, and, in a second, without leaving the place he stood, _wham_-- he'd knocked her out cold with the billiard ball Emery had used to threaten little Annie.

"Oh!" I gasped. "Nick! When in the hell did you manage to pilfer that?!"

Nick shrugged sheepishly, smiling. "I have my ways."

"Indeed, you do," I grinned at him, going for our friend, who managed to sit up, gagging. "Oh, Cathy, are you alright?"

"I think so," she sputtered. "But what about her?"

Nick laughed. "My goodness, you really are a good Christian lady, aren't you?"

"Well, is she alright?" Cough. "Is she even alive?"

My husband went to check on Mrs. Waterman as I helped Cathy to her feet. "Her pulse is strong," Nick told us. He turned to Cathy. "You know who this is, of course."

Cathy nodded. "Emery's mother. We'll have to tell him."

Nick looked at Cathy.

"What? You don't want to tell him?"

"'Emmers, your mum just popped out of the wine cellar like Jack out of his box. Forget 'round the bend, she's off the planet.' I mean, how does it sound to you? And-- given his present condition....."

"Oh..." Cathy sighed. "It does sound very bad. What should we do with her?"

It didn't take us long but it was finally decided that she needed to be tied up. When it was done, Nick poured us some tea.

"This-- this is wrong to me," Cathy shook her head. "I mean, the woman is ill."

"Yes, but she's also a danger to herself and to others. I'm afraid this is the only way."

Cathy studied the pieces of fabric and rope used to tie her together. Mrs. Waterman struggled slightly, still knocked out from earlier. "Will those hold her?"

"Well, I would have preferred clothes line, but I think so. Besides, Emery gave me the impression that her interests run more towards the Home Shopping Network than amazing escapes." Nick smiled, making us chuckle. "Drink up, Cathy. It'll do you good. Here's to.... damsels in distress."

"And the knights who rescue them!" I added quickly, grinning.


	40. In This World

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 40: In This World

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Cathy smiled, and we drank. She put down her glass a moment later. "Coming in here alone was very stupid, but Emery so upset me."

"He upsets everyone," Nick told her. "At the orientation on Monday, when he made those comments about Liza, I... I won't lie to you, I wanted to take his head off." He chuckled. "And, I mean, look at her...." Nick indicated Mrs. Waterman, and Cathy made a face.

"Oh, Nick....."

"I'm sorry, Cathy, but it's true."

There was a noise next to us. I turned in time to see Mrs. Waterman begin to struggle, and her eyes opened slowly.

"Ooh-- I think she's coming 'round. Now we only have to worry about Professor Miller."

"Mrs. Waterman?" I leaned over Emery's mother. "Mrs. Waterman, have you seen Professor Miller?"

"Y-you-- you killed m-my boy!"

"Mrs. W, you've got it all wrong! Emery's fine!" Nick assured her. He brought over a new glass of tea. "Here, drink this." She drank greedily, but seconds later, she spit it all back in Nick's face. I jumped.

"Liar!" Mrs. Waterman howled. "Limey jack-tar!"

In spite of the underlying fear that had settled amongst my nerves, I burst out laughing.

"Limey jack-tar?!" Nick laughed, glancing over his shoulder at us. He got up, fished out a towel and dried his face. "I've been called many things, but never that."

Cathy tried comforting Mrs. Waterman as Nick and I talked. "I'm afraid we'll have to leave you alone for a little while, Mrs. Waterman, only until you feel yourself again."

"Well," I told Nick, smiling. "That certainly was a bit of a mood-lifter."

"Indeed," he chuckled, tossing down the towel onto the counter. "How're you holding up, darling? You alright?"

"Oh..." I shrugged. "I've been better."

Nick laughed, putting hair from my eyes. "C'mere...." Leaning in towards me, he kissed my lips and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He slid an arm around me and pulled me in for a hug as he gazed out over the Solarium. "Cathy..." he called. "Come here. Look at this."

Cathy went to stand on Nick's other side and as I looked out, I took in the sight of all the flowers, plants.... the beautiful red roses that were everywhere. "We're doing that," Nick told us. "It's feeding off us. And you can feel it, too, can't you?"

"Of course I do," Cathy sighed.  "Me, too."

"Oh, dear Jesus, please get us all out of here. We have to get out of here...... Nick, do you think Steve--"

"Oh, no, Steve couldn't hold this by himself, not with Emery and the three of us working against him. Emery was right, the problem lies with Annie."

"Could you...."

"Hurt her? I have the power, yes. But no, of course I wouldn't hurt her." Nick smiled.

"C'mon, you guys. Let's get back, okay?"

Nick nodded, kissing my forehead. Turning, he went over to check Mrs. Waterman. Cathy and I were right behind him. Mrs. Waterman was moaning incoherently, trying, obviously, to tell us something. But she was too upset by what Rose Red had already shown her.

"What's that, Mrs. Waterman?" Nick crouched over her. "Do you want to buy a vowel, or spin again?"

"Nick!" Cathy chided. "That is not funny."

I couldn't help but snicker. "I'm sorry. I thought it was hilarious. Mrs. Waterman," I piped up. "Forgive me."

Nick smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Cathy. Mrs. Waterman, what are you trying to say, huh?"

It was then I realized Mrs. Waterman was staring at the wine cellar, so I followed her gaze over to the open door-- and fought the scream that threatened to rip its way from me. My heart slammed to a halt in my chest before skyrocketing up to my throat.

"OH!"

Sukeena and Pam stood at the threshold of the wine cellar, except they looked terrible. They looked rotted, unearthed. Pam's face was sunken, her hair stringy about her face, and Sukeena's lips and eyelids had rotted completely away from having been underground for so long. Bile found its way to my throat.

"Liza?!" Nick was at my side in an instant. "Darling, what is it?"

"Oh, Jesus," I shook, clinging to him. "It's Pam. Sukeena's with her." I paused, looking up at my husband. "Oh, my God, don't tell me you can't see them, either!" I looked back down to the cellar and they were gone. "Wha-- they're gone!!"

"Ladies, I suggest we leave, right now. And very carefully, might I add."

"Yeah..." I whispered, holding onto Nick's arm. "That's a very good idea."

"What about Mrs. Waterman?"

"Later, Cathy. We'll come back later to get her." We left quickly, and made our way down the dark hallway, back the way we came.

"Oh, God... I just hope we don't find them again on our way back."

"I agree," Cathy nodded. "Oh, Liza, your face! It's white as a sheet!"

"I bet. I can feel it. Oh, to be away from this house.... this awful old house...." I shuddered, glancing around the hallway. Something wasn't right. Panic began to scratch at the back of my mind. "This isn't the way we came!"

"You're telling me," Nick agreed.

"Oh, no, no...." I shook my head. By God, we were not about to lose ourselves in that damned house! "Oh, God, no..."

"Ssh, ssh...." Nick slid an arm around me. "Liza, it's alright. You've got to calm down, sweetheart."

It was then we came up on a hallway that was under construction. Stepping inside, Nick turned and reached for us. "Watch your step, ladies." He offered us each a hand.

"Oh, thank you."

I went up ahead a few paces and found a workbench with a brand new hammer sitting atop. "Nineteen-twenty-four...." I read the date burned into the side. "What? How can this be? But it's brand-new."

"Huh," Nick studied the hammer, then glanced about the unfinished little hallway. "You'd think after all these years she'd have Rose Red eat at least one half-way decent carpenter."

At the end of the hall there was a boarded-up section of wall; peering through one of the blank spots on the wall, Nick suddenly yelped and jumped back. There was a screech as a rat came skyrocketing out and scampered down the hall. "Oh, poor Nick...." I smiled leaning against his arm.

"What? What is it?"

"The reincarnation of Emery's mother!" He gasped, playing off his little fear very nicely.

"Nick...."

"Sorry, Cathy. Truth is, I....." my husband glanced at me, taking up my hand. "I'm rather scared. Let's find the others." Leaning against Nick, I hugged him.

"I'm scared, too, Nick."

"We won't," Cathy's voice broke. "We won't find them. We're never gonna see them again!"

"Of course we are! I promise. And I never break a promise. C'mon, Cathy." With one arm around me and one around Cathy, Nick led us away and around the next corner. "What are you doing here, Cathy?"

"Getting the stuffing scared out of me, what else?" She chuckled.

"For the rest of us, yes. But not for you."

"My therapist said I was a compulsive quitter. He said I kept starting things, only to quit them later."

"And what did you say to that?"

"I..." Cathy smiled sheepishly. "I stopped seeing him."

I grinned as Nick kissed her hand reassuringly, and out of the corner of my eye, something caught. "Oh! Look here, a door!" Walking over, I pushed the door open to reveal the Prospective Hallway. It was dark. "Ok... the Prospective Hallway. That's something kindof familiar, huh?"

"Mmm, let's not get our hopes up, love," Nick shook his head.

"It's so creepy," I shuddered, leaning against him. "You can't even see the end."

He kissed my forehead. "Well, love, that's why we've got the lights."

It was when he spoke that my blood froze. Something..... I could hear something. "Listen," I said quietly. "Voices... whispering." We stood frozen and silent, listening, and I could feel the proverbial bottom drop out below me. My blood froze in my veins. The terror that gripped me then was excruciating, like the terror that gripped me that night in New Orleans. Except this was ten times worse.

"Nick?" My tiny voice shook nearly as hard as the rest of me.

I was falling, and fast. The air in front of me turned cold; my breath billowed out in front of me in little gasps. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It all happened again, and in seconds.

"What...." Cathy couldn't even finish her sentence. With a filthy, inhuman, rumbling growl, the carpet behind us rose and came straight for us.

"RUN, ELIZABETH! RUN!!"

I screamed as Nick grabbed my hand, and I reached over to clutch at Cathy's. We sprinted for the other end of the hallway as the whispering and growling got louder and more pronounced. It felt as if I were going mad with fear; I threw a glance over my shoulder.

"No! Don't look back, darling, don't look back! Just run!"

"Oh, Jesus!" Cathy screamed.

The sound was terrible. The snarling ripped through the air like a saw, shredding our nerves as it spread to the point in which we couldn't tell where it was coming from anymore. The hall was too long; Nick found a side door that worked and ripped it open.

"I love you, Liza! Run!" He shoved me inside first, and then Cathy.

I whirled around to grab at him, and I realized then he was slamming the door. My heart exploded inside of my chest. "NICK!" I screamed. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"What about you?!" Cathy howled to him. We were answered by the sounds of inhuman shrieking coupled up with Nick's screams.

"NO!" I bellowed. "Help me open this Goddamn door--" I practically ripped it off its hinges and threw myself into the hallway. It was empty, save for Nick's flashlight. "Nick? NICK!" I fell to my knees. Right in front of the flashlight was his wedding ring. I picked it up, feeling the scream build inside of me. No. No no no no NO---

He was gone.

----------

MUSIC:

"In This World," by Moby, is so beautiful. I was inspired by the live version from Glastonbury in June of 2003-- you can find it on YouTube-- because it's so much slower and sadder-sounding than the original. They both have the same, sad lyrics, but the live version is, to me, so much more beautiful. "Lordy, don't leave me, all by myself. Can't face it all alone here in this world…. can't survive all alone here in this world without you."


	41. Deliver Me

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 41: Deliver Me

And that's when the screams finally came. I'd never screamed like that before in my life. My heart was being shredded open from the inside out. Pain and grief pulled me under, strangling me, and I collapsed as the entire house trembled around me.

"YOU GIVE HIM BACK TO ME! You can't have him! Oh, my God!"

"Liza, Liza!" Cathy cried. "We have to go, come on!" She tugged at me and I shook her off, grabbing Nick's flashlight.

"NO! I want to go with him," I sobbed. "I wanted to go with him!"

"Please! We _need_ you, Liza! _Please!_" She screamed, sobbing, pulling at my arm. "GET UP! NOW!"

"Oh, God...." To say that I was a wreck was a joke. Every piece of me was on fire. I wanted to die. I'd never wanted death so badly. I wanted to slip away and never resurface. I wanted a release. I wanted my husband back. But I got up. I got up and I started to move. Every step I took was a knife in my heart. Every breath that inflated my lungs was an icy slap, an insult to injury. I was offended that the powers that be allowed my heart to continue beating when the one person who meant the most was gone.

"Nick. Nick.... Nick...."

I dragged myself after her, sobbing and wailing. We turned the corner to find another dead end. "Oh, God, no-- I'm not crazy!!" Cathy cried. "This was the way!" Sliding Nick's ring into my pocket, I heard the voices again. The whispering... I could understand it then.

"Help us.... help Rose Red. Help us build!"

The double doors at the end of the hall opened up by themselves, and Cathy screamed. Through the tears that continued to pour down my face and the angry, grief-stricken sobs that continued to wrack my body, I saw a decayed Ellen Rimbauer emerge, dressed in her white gown and holding a hammer. The realization hit me as swift as lightening, taking my breath away.

_ "Liza!" Next to me, Gwen gasped and went rigid._

_ "What?"_

_ "Slow down! Stop, you're going to hit her!"_

_ "What the--" I had been watching the road the entire time but when I looked back after a split second look at my friend's terrified face, there she was, the old woman in white. She had a hammer in her hand. "Jesus Christ! Hold on, Gwen!" I swerved to the right, then to the left. The car careened out of control._

The pole that had gone through Gwen's head was the pole that held up a street sign: Spring Street.

"You. You--!! Oh, GOD, she-- Gwen--" I sputtered.

"Help us build, Liza!"

My jaw dropped. "FUCK YOU, YOU BITCH!!" Grabbing Cathy's hand, we fled the hallway and found ourselves at the wooden and brick staircase from the beginning of Joyce's tour. The voices were all around us still.   "Cathy.... Liza.... help us build....."

Making it to the top, we ran down a side hallway and into the first room we could find-- the upside-down office. "Ooh, God...." I put my arms out and grabbed hold of Cathy's arm. It took us a few moments to navigate, having to fight our equilibrium. We went to the same door Vic had opened for us earlier.... only to find the Mirror Library. I let out a cry. "No!"

"Oh, Jesus!" Cathy wailed, disgusted, as we made our way to the center. "I hate this room!"

Looking down, I saw something reflected in the floor. A dark shape in the ceiling. My blood ran cold. Cathy noticed it, too, and we both looked up to find Bollinger, warped and mangled, hanging by his neck from the chandelier. His camera was around his neck and there was a sign taped to him.

HELP ME MOMMY IM SO SCARED

Cathy and I screamed, and I turned to sprint back to the door. I made it in seconds, but there was a sound behind me. Cathy cried out.

"Oh-- Oh! Liza! Oh, Jesus, help me!"

I wheeled around. To my absolute horror, Cathy's feet were sinking into the glass as if it were quicksand. She was up to her knees as she tried with everything she had to wade through.

"CATHY!" I screamed. "Don't stop, Cathy! You can do it, come on! Please, don't give up. Hurry!" I reached out my hands for her, scared to death to move lest I would sink, too. "Come on, Cathy!"

Reaching out for me, she grabbed my hands and as I helped hoist her from the glassy muck, my eyes shot up to the reporter in time to watch his eyes fly open. I screamed again.

We bolted for the exit. Running for the balcony over what we hoped would be the main foyer of the house, we were sorely disappointed to find level after level of building below us; the house went down and on forever. It was massive, stretching as far as the eye could see. Any bigger and it would have had its own atmosphere.

"No!" Cathy wailed. "It can't be!"

"Cathy..... Liza....."

"SHUT UP!"

Cathy grabbed my arm. "Come on! This way!" She led me off to a little hallway down the side. It was small and white, much like the old butler's entrance in a lot of the older houses. The door at the end of the hall was small and wooden, not very fancy, and we opened it up to reveal the stairs up to the attic, so we went running up.

"Oh, doesn't this ever end?" I shrieked. Just when I'd managed to stop crying long enough to see where I was going, the tears welled up again and I burst into tears. "Nick...! Oh, Nick, I'm so scared, please....!"

"Hold it together, sweetie! Come on!" Cathy shook me. "Liza! I need you here, okay? Come on, now...." She linked her arm through mine and pulled me away. My cries had died down to wails.

"Nick... Oh, Nick.... nooo....."

The next flight of stairs were up to the second story of the attic. They were made of wooden planks, and on the second floor, there were things scattered everywhere. Wicker furniture, old lamps, an old bike..... Eventually, we found a giant, framed wedding photo of Ellen and John Rimbauer. He had a hand on her shoulder, and one of her hands was on his. Moving the drapes blocking it aside, Cathy fell to her knees before it, staring at it.

"Cathy?! Cathy! What are you doing?"

"Oh, not now," Cathy moaned, fighting her sudden need to write.

"What, what do you see?"

She gasped, her eyes rolling back into her head. Putting a finger to the glass, Cathy began writing a message in the dust over John's head: NO SUICIDE. She moved to Ellen: MURDER ELLEN SUKEENA.

"Oh, Jesus!"

I did a double take, staring at the photo. I watched as Ellen took her hand down from her shoulder. Her beautiful face changed. Right before our eyes, she transformed into a hideous monster, with huge canines and incisors.

Without warning, she broke through the glass and snatched for Cathy, who gave a shriek. I pulled her away with little time to spare, yanking her through the attic further until we finally came to the entrance to the tower folly. Ellen was no longer following us, but that didn't mean she wasn't there.

A new voice reached our ears then. "Cathy, Nick, Liza! Where are you?"

"Steve!" I shrieked, relief flooding my body. "We're here!"

"The attic!" Cathy called after him, and she turned to me and smiled. "You see?"

We went to the top of the tower folly, where the beautiful stained glass window was located. The center of the stained glass window was a beautiful red rose.

There was a slight sound behind us, and the two of us froze, looking at each other. "No..."

"GOTCHA!"

There was a thud behind us; we spun around to find Steve had tackled whomever it was that was about to startle us-- and not in the nice way. It was another dead body, like the ones we'd seen in the wine cellar and in the hallway. The corpse was face down.

"That's for scaring me all those years ago," Steve told the body.

Sissy was right behind him. "How could Ellen still be alive?"

"She was in a part of the house normal people couldn't see."

"Her husband wasn't a suicide," Cathy told them. "She and Sukeena killed him."

Steve rolled over the corpse then, only to discover she had a withered arm. "Aunt April?"

There was a small blue light then, coming straight from her mouth, not dissimilar to the larger one we'd seen in the mirror library and the living room. It left through April's mouth and then, _poof_, April Rimbauer was a pile of ash.

"That means Ellen is still somewhere around here!"

My whole body went hot with anger. "I wanna kill her," I growled.

--------

MUSIC:

Soooo sad, this chapter!!! :( :( :( It was named after Sarah Brightman's "Deliver Me" because that song will just tear your heart out, it's so sad. I interpret the lyrics to be half and half- one part, Liza grieves for her lost husband; the other part, it's like an echo of when she first met Nick, after having lost Gwen: "Deliver me out of my sadness. Deliver me from all of the madness. All of my life, I was in hiding… wishing there were some one just like you. Now that you're here, now that I've found you… I know that you're the one to pull me through."


	42. Glorious

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 42: Glorious

I followed the trio back down into the billiards room; Emery, Joyce and Annie were waiting for us. Nick's jacket was sprawled out on the same chair I'd left it. Going over, I picked it up and closed my eyes. The smell.... it was.... it was him. That was the way Nick smelled. I collapsed all over again, burying my face in the jacket and sobbing.

Cathy ran over and grabbed me. "Liza...."

"Ooh, I want him back, I want him back....." I sobbed. "I wanted to go with him. Why didn't Ellen take me instead, huh? Why?! What am I supposed to do, Cathy? I can't face this world without him, he-- just--" I couldn't even speak anymore. All I could do was sob. My entire body shook as Cathy wrapped me in my husband's jacket. I had to think of something else. Steve's voice caught me.

"I'm telling you, Joyce, it was April Rimbauer."

"Where's your proof?"

"We all saw it," Sissy told her.

"Oh, so if I were to ask her--" Joyce scoffed, indicating me, and I stood up. "--you honestly believe she'd be able to tell me? She's barely lucid." She laughed nonchalantly. "Some witness!"

I couldn't believe what I was doing. All the same, I didn't stop myself. I was next to Joyce then; I reared back and smacked her as hard as I could. "THIS HOUSE ATE MY HUSBAND!" I roared, sobbing. "Yet why should I expect you to give a shit?" I laughed bitterly. "To feel anything, huh? I used to admire you, Joyce. You were my teacher. You held my secret and fed my mind. But... you've changed! You've changed, like he said, and I don't like the person you've become. Ooh, Nick was right about you. You chose to ignore it, and now it's coming back to bite you in the ass. As of this moment, I am holding you personally responsible for the death of my husband, as well as Vic and Pam."

"Liza."

"What?!" I bellowed, making Sissy jump. "Do you deny it? You know he was right! No sane human being would act this way!"

"Be that as it may," Cathy's voice was eerily quiet, a little too calm. "You need to come back and sit down with me, honey."

I was fuming. Glaring at Joyce, I glanced around the room at the six other faces that surrounded us. Steve's eyes betrayed him; he knew I was right. It would take some time with him, due to his feelings for Joyce, and it was understandable. But eventually, I knew he would side with me completely. Returning to the sofa, I sat down next to Cathy, pulling on Nick's jacket. Joyce was still staring at me, stunned. She sighed, turning back to Steve.

"Please don't expect me to believe that your ninety-year-old great-aunt is a vampire living in the tower. As a scientist, I just can't--"

"Don't be deliberately obtuse!" Steve said, aghast. "It's the _house_ that's the vampire, and I think you know that."

"Oh!" Joyce taunted him, smiling. "Obtuse? Such a large word for a college drop-out."

"My, what sharp teeth you have, grandma," Sissy glanced at Joyce.

"Another country heard from," Emery's voice was raw. He didn't look so hot. "Tell me, big sis..."

"Be quiet. I don't want to talk to you."

"Oh, but I wanna talk to you. I'm curious. How often do you dream of her dying? Come on. Tell the truth and shame the devil."

"Stop talking like that!" Cathy cried. "Why do you have to be so miserable?!"

"Because I _am_ miserable, you over-Christianized idiot!"

Joyce chuckled, grinning. She certainly was reveling in the little exchange.

Emery got to his feet, glaring at Annie, and Sissy leaped up. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"If he does, he'll regret it," Steve stood next to Annie.

"Please," I wailed. "Stop this!"

"Oh, so strong and brave, Steve. Threatening the man with four missing fingers! What good is she, anyway? Just tell me that. Does she even know she's alive? I seriously doubt it."

"Cut it out, Emery!"

"Please. What can you do to me that isn't any worse than what this house will do?"

"I dunno," Steve shrugged. "Send you out of the room, maybe? How would that be?"

Emery stared at him, finally deciding to sit back down. Sissy, overcome, ran from the room crying, and Cathy called out after her. "Don't go out there alone!"

Steve ran after her, and I could hear them talking. Sissy was crying, and then the sounds of building started again. I covered my ears, unable to bear it any longer. Fortunately, Steve and Sissy came back in moments later.

"Steve," Cathy went up to him. "You have to get through to Annie. You're the only one who can do it."

"I've tried! But whatever's in here has closed her off to me. Maybe you--"

Suddenly it was upon us, another cluster manifestation, much like the one that we experienced the night we had arrived. Only this time, it was ten times more intense. I shrieked, shielding my face with my arms. When I pulled my arms away, the first thing I saw made me gasp. Emery was up off the couch, slowly going right for Annie. They were both staring each other down. He had a fire poker in his hand. Yet the most shocking thing was right behind him-- the coat of armor Nick had been studying had come to life and was right behind Emery, ax at the ready.

"Emery, stop!" I screamed, and Joyce turned at the sound of my voice.

"NO!"

The armor took a swing for Emery, but not before he turned in time to see it. He ducked, but when he popped back up, he lost his balance and toppled over. The ax came down again, narrowly missing him. It planted itself firmly in the floor inches from his face. Without warning, the armor broke apart. The sparks and winds died down some, but they were still there, going strong.

"You, Cathy! It has to be!"

"No! I--"

"Yes! You can!" Steve cried.

"I won't let you do this," Joyce broke in. "It's too dangerous!" Steve had to hold her back, and Cathy sat down across from Annie with two giant pads of paper and a set of markers. Pulling out two, Cathy opened one up and began to draw squiggles across the top of the paper. "They can't open themselves up to the forces of this house!" Joyce shouted. "It'll kill them both, swat them like flies!"

"We don't have another option right now," Steve held on to her.

"Would you like to try, Annie?" Cathy handed her the second marker. Annie looked up at Steve skeptically, and Joyce shook her head, but Annie took the marker anyway. Cathy continued to make brown squiggles across her paper, and soon, Annie's paper had matching squiggles of blue.

"That's good," Cathy told her.

"Keep going, Annie," Sissy encouraged her.

"Yes, Annie. Don't stop drawing," I told her.

"No! Stop!" Joyce was the only one objecting.

Next to us, a vase burst, making Cathy jump. She was distracted for a split second but regained focus, continuing to fill her page with lines. The piano was next to go, and the whole room started to fall apart. The winds were so strong, I felt like I would be swept away if I wasn't careful. Everything around us was being destroyed. The sparks and the bursts of light were enough to drive one mad, but Cathy and Annie paid them no mind. They just kept drawing.

Cathy moved to the next line. 'Help us! Cathy, Steve, Joyce, Annie, Sissy, Liza, Emery.'

'??????'

Turning the page, Cathy continued to write. 'Open the doors, open the doors, open the doors, open the doors.....'

"Make her stop!" Joyce howled. "You're gonna get us all killed!"

Annie turned the page on her pad. 'Open the doors, open the doors, open the doors, open the doors......' Her handwriting was messy, but legible, and suddenly, all the doors began to swing open! The windows above us shattered out as the fierce winds ripped through the house. Joyce was screaming, terrified Annie and Cathy would destroy the house, when all of a sudden, everything stopped. The winds, the destruction..... it was calm, quiet. I could hear traffic outside through the open windows. I stopped and listened. Right then, it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. I started to cry.

Steve released Joyce then, and I watched him bolt for the main entryway to check the front doors. "They're open!" He shouted victoriously.

There was movement next to me. Joyce had something in her hand; she was going for Annie. The look in her eyes was unlike anything I'd ever seen-- so full of hatred. It was then I realized she was brandishing a screwdriver.

"Joyce?" Steve's momentary feeling of victory was quashed.

"JOYCE, NO!" I screamed as she pushed Sissy and then Cathy out of the way. Annie stared up at her in surprise, when, all of a sudden, the flames leaped from the fireplace and straight into Joyce's face. She cried out, throwing up her arms to shield her face, and fell backwards. Emery was right behind her.

"Not there, not there, not there, NOT THERE!" Blowing into his fist, he "threw" the air at the flames, and they disappeared.

The winds started to pick up again, as did the destruction, too. Fortunately for us, the doors remained opened. Steve was at Joyce's side, and he helped her up. "C'mon. It's time to go."

"Go?" She looked at him calmly and shook her head "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly. I have a thousand things to do."

Sissy grabbed Annie, and Cathy came to me. "Liza, honey, it's time to go. Come on." Unlike Joyce, I did not need to be told twice.

"I'm serious, Dee! We have to go!" The lights above us shot sparks out over our heads.

"Then go on! Get out! And take that traitor with you," Joyce motioned for Annie.

"Joyce, please--" Steve grabbed for Joyce's arm, but she wheeled around and slugged him across the face.

"_Get out!!_"

Steve stared at her sadly, but finally, he turned and joined the rest of us as we ran for the exit.

Emery caught up with me and Cathy as we rounded the corner, right past a huge mirror. "First thing I want when I get out of here is a morphine milkshake!"

"Emery!" Mrs. Waterman's voice was so faint we thought we'd missed it. He stared at it.

"Second thing I want--"

"C'MERE, EMMERS!" Mrs. Waterman came flying out of the mirror, knocking me and Cathy on our backs. She looked like hell, coming halfway out of the mirror. It reminded me of what happened to Cathy in the Mirrored Library. "I wanna check to see if you've been cleaning your nails!" She cried, holding up his wounded hand. "I wanna look behind your ears, and check your teeth. And what about...." She looked down. "DOWN THERE?? Come to Momma, Emmers!"

"Oh, my God!" Emery fought against her.

"Have you been doing that nasty thing again? I hear you in your room at night; Mommy hears everything!"

"Help me, for God's sake! Help me!"

"Emery!" Cathy screamed. "For once in your miserable life, fight her!"

That was encouragement enough for him. He turned back to his mother. "Not there, not there, not there! Not there! Not there!"

Steve swooped in and hoisted Cathy up to her feet. Sissy grabbed me and helped me back onto my feet, as well.

"Emmers, no!" Mrs. Waterman cried. "I'll always be there for you-- after all, I'm your mother!"

Emery screamed, fighting harder than ever as his mother disappeared into the mirror again. His arms were going in with her, and Steve grabbed hold of him and pulled him out.

"Stevey..." We looked back up in time to find Ellen standing there, hammer in hand. She was nothing but rot, gore. Skin and bones. "Take it, Stevey. You wanted it then as you want it now." She offered him the hammer.

I growled. "You killed Nick, and you killed Gwen."

Ellen laughed. "It was the only way to get you to come, Liza. And I'm glad you did. Your husband makes a nice addition to my family....."

"YOU BITCH!"

"No!" Sissy held me back. "She'll kill you!"

"I don't care," I shouted. "Let me go!"

"Help us, Stevey. Help us build Rose Red!"

To our utter shock, Steve took the hammer from her.

"Steve, no!"

"I don't want it, Great-Gramma. Do you want it, Liza?" He offered it to me. I looked in his eyes and saw. Understood. Glancing down at the hammer in his hand, I made it levitate up and brought it out in front of me.

"No," I spat, turning to Ellen. "_You_ take it."

With that, I "threw" it at Ellen, and it hit her with a sickening thud, causing her to fly back and into the mirror.

"Time to go!" Steve stated the obvious, and we sprinted out. The whole house started to shake. I knew it was me. And I wasn't scared anymore. I saw our bags and my purse, still sitting by the doors, and I grabbed onto them. We were out onto the patio; spinning around, I dropped the bags. Ellen, screaming, was flying at us from the end of the hallway, hideous, evil, decaying. My arms shot up, right towards her, and it was as if she hit a wall. She exploded backwards, crumpling.

"The doors, Annie, now!" I screamed, and Annie did as I told her, slamming them shut, just as Ellen was about to come back for us.

We didn't wait; we immediately ran for the van, but once we got there, we turned and watched the house collapse in on itself. It was then I could hear the voices.... the voices of the people Rose Red had killed over the years. I could hear Joyce screaming, and I knew they were with her.

"You took my Emmers! He's gone!"

"Say cheese!"

"You were right, Joyce. There is another world, and it's beautiful." I recognized Professor Miller right away. But it was the last voice that nearly destroyed me.

"I was going to be a father, Joyce. I'll never get to play with my children, and I'll never see my wife again. You took them away from me."

"Oh, Nick, Nick!"

Steve squeezed my shoulder. He heard them, too.

"Bad place," Annie glared at the house. "Bad.... h-house!"

"That's right, Annie. Very bad."

The ground rumbled, and with it came the boulders. "Oh, God, it's the stones again," Sissy sighed. I remembered Sissy telling me about Annie's stones. She could make them fall from the sky, which was exactly what was happening then. The large rocks came tumbling down upon the house, smashing through windows and doors, collapsing ceilings and rooftops.

"Make her stop!" Cathy cried.

"I can't!" Sissy shrugged helplessly.

"And I don't want her to," Steve shook his head. The house was torn to shreds. "Come on." He motioned for all of us to get in the van, and we climbed in as quick as we could. I tossed my bags in back and watched out the window as one of the boulders came crashing down upon Mommy's Little Scoot-about; it exploded in a ball of flames. I shrieked, and it was all over. Steve hadn't even started the car yet. We sat silently for a moment, staring at the quiet house.

"I... I think it's over," Sissy breathed.

"It'll never be over, so long as the house stands." Turning over the engine, Steve pulled out of the driveway and took us away from that wretched house forever.

------------

MUSIC:

Chapter named after the song "Glorious" by Muse. Liza needs to keep her chin up in order to get out of the house, even though she's just lost her husband, and she manages to boil up some anger as well as a good fight to get them out. "Faith, it drives me away, but it turns me on, like a stranger's love… it rockets through the universe, it fuels the lies and feeds the curse, but we, too, could be glorious...."


	43. In This Heart

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 43: In this Heart

I was in a fog. I was watching my life happen in front of me as if I were watching a movie. Steve immediately took us to the hospital, where we brought Emery in via the emergency room entrance. They admitted him immediately, and then took Annie aside to get the bump on her head checked. Sissy stayed with Annie, and that left Steve, Cathy and me in the lobby. I'd barely moved or said a word since we'd left the house.

"Miss?"

Nothing registered anymore. I felt empty, weightless. My heart was a giant, permanent bruise that festered with every beat.

"Miss."

I wanted to go with him......

"Liza. The nurse needs to ask you a few questions." I felt a hand on my arm and jumped. Cathy was gazing at me, eyes wide, concerned. "Oh, honey." She frowned when she saw the tears.

"I wanted to go with him."

"Oh, Liza, honey....."

"Ma'am, is she...."

Cathy shook her head. "She's in shock. Isn't there.....?"

"Come on, miss." The nurse put an arm around me, guiding me down the hall. I looked back over my shoulder.

"Cathy? Don't--"

"It's alright, honey. I'll come with you." My friend smiled, sliding her hand in mine. The nurse found me a bed and let me lie back.

"What's your name, honey?"

"Liza," I murmured.

"What happened to all of you, Liza?" The nurse asked, pulling out blankets from the shelves.

I couldn't. I couldn't face it. It was too much. I looked at Cathy and shook my head. Don't make me say it.

"We came from Rose Red," Cathy said quietly, and the nurse gasped. Obviously, we'd found a believer. "We lost four in our group. Her-- her husband was one of them." I shoved my hands in my pockets, freezing, and shut my eyes then, tears spilling out over my cheeks. Something cold hit my fingers. Nick's wedding ring came out around my middle finger. A desperate little moan escaped me, and I clutched my fists to my chest, fighting to keep my heart from exploding from my ribcage. I knew I couldn't win the fight against the tears. The battle stung my eyes, causing me to clamp them shut, and I let out a wail.

"Nick......"

"Oh, my God, you poor woman...." the nurse crouched down next to me, stroking my hair. Her name-tag said Denise Albert, RN. "My favorite aunt was lost to the house back in the seventies. Her name was Liza, too." She took my hand in hers. "I'm so sorry, honey. I'm so very sorry." I squeezed the nurse's hand to let her know I wasn't a complete lost cause. She smiled bittersweetly at me before getting up to go tend to the rest of her patients; Cathy came around then to sit next to me as I sobbed, and she started to cry, too. She squeezed my hand tight, and together, we mourned.

Every moment was something new, unwanted and extremely difficult. When we finally left the hospital, we left Emery there, promising to visit. We decided to drive back to the university so we could get our cars. Cathy climbed out when Steve found my little Honda, and she helped me with the bags. The sun had started to rise as we left the hospital, and now it was nearly eight in the morning.

"I'd ask you if you were going to be okay, but I think I know the answer to that question."

"Oh?"

"Mmm. It's 'no.'"

I stood there silently, staring at my feet, twisting Nick's ring back and forth around my middle finger. Even on my thumb, it was still too big. "I just wanna go home," I whispered.

"I know, honey. And you should. You should go home." Cathy sighed. "Oh, Liza.... come here." She pulled me into a hug, and I held onto her tightly. "Listen to me; look at me." I did as she said. "I want you to call me later today if you need the company. Do you understand? If you feel like you're coming unglued and you can't stand being in..... Just... call me, okay? To let me know."

"I will," I nodded honestly.

"Liza." Steve poked his head out the window. "We're not letting you down, you won't be alone in this, you got that? We're here for you. Always." Next to him, Sissy nodded, smiling.

My throat closed in on me. "Thank you, Steve. I'll remember that."

"Okay." Cathy smiled. "You go on now. We'll all check in later. Do you want to visit Emery later today?"

"That'd be nice," I nodded. I knew I would need it.

I drove home silently, and when I got there, I pulled out our bags and stood in front of our house. Nick's empty car was in the driveway. I pulled out my keys, unlocked the door. Stepping inside, I set the bags by the door and turned around to lock it. The silence was the first thing I noticed; it was overpowering. Nick's papers from work were out on the kitchen table where he'd left them Friday morning-- Friday, which seemed as if it had occurred eons earlier, as opposed to two days previously. I walked into the living room. Above the fire-place, the same fire-place in front of which Nick had proposed, pictures from our wedding day adorned the mantle, memories of a life now over, as abrupt, sudden and cold as a smack to the face. I picked up my favorite one. We were grinning, dancing our first dance, "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer, and he had tilted me back for a kiss. Clutching the photograph to my chest, I walked through the silent house. The kitchen, empty, was exactly the way we left it Friday morning. Our half-consumed cups of coffee were left, forgotten, on the island. The guest bedrooms were empty, as usual, but our bathroom was, too, and so was our bedroom. The bed, unmade and rumpled, was a purple elephant, obvious and unavoidable. Nick's pajama pants lay tossed across the foot of the bed where he'd left them, my robe draped across the chair in the corner. Grazing through my jewelry box, I found a long silver chain that I used to string Nick's wedding ring through. Looping it around my neck, I sat on the bed, holding tight to the photograph and to the jacket that, by that point, I'd already pulled off. It smelled exactly like him. And when I collapsed on the bed, there was a great, terrible ripping sound, the sound of a wounded and dying animal coming apart. The screams tore from my chest, eating through my heart and my soul until I was convinced that there was nothing left.

----------

MUSIC:

I named this chapter after the Sinead O'Connor song, "In This Heart." Go look it up. I say that all the time but this time I really mean it. This song will tear your heart out; I couldn't stop crying the first time I heard it.

Other songs I was inspired by:  
"I Grieve" by Peter Gabriel  
"My Weakness" by Moby  
"Thank You for Hearing Me" by Sinead O'Connor


	44. I Told You So

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 44: I Told You So

I held up to my promise to Cathy; I called her and went with the group later that afternoon to visit Emery. But when we finished, I went home and crawled back in bed to continue sleeping. In the few hours I'd been home, I found that sleep was the only way I had by which to escape the overpowering grief. After awhile, I stopped answering the phone. The caller ID announced to me the names of the people I was missing. My parents called seven times that second day; Amanda called five times; Eddie called six; David and Brian called separately on behalf of the band eight times each; and Chris called fifteen times. I wouldn't even know where to begin when it came to the spirits. I was still getting inundated with visitors from the other side, looking for lost loves. With every spirit, I became more and more angry that Nick was not amongst them. With every spirit, after their questions, I asked one of my own: "Have you seen my husband?" After awhile, I began to feel a lot like one of the spirits I was supposed to help: lost, lonely and confused.

The third day, which I believe was Tuesday, was the first day in which my doorbell rang. I was in bed again, but this time, I was awake. I hadn't been crying; as a matter of fact, at eleven o'clock in the morning, I hadn't cried in six hours. It was a record for me, a record by five and a half hours. I was beginning to think maybe I'd run out of tears. Feeling strong enough to face another human being, yet hoping to God it wasn't one of the neighbors, I pulled on my robe over my pajamas and went to the door.

I swung the door open, halfway expecting Cathy, Steve or maybe a member of the Seattle Police Department, but instead, I found my God-father standing there, suitcase in hand. He looked like hell. I could tell he hadn't slept. My resolve wavered, and it was then that my record was broken. My knees began to shake and my chin trembled. He looked as if he was about to lose it, too; his eyes were filled with tears.

"Liza--"

"Don't. Just--" I cut him off, shaking my head. My voice cracked. The tears flowed easily, as if they'd never stopped to begin with. "No. Don't you fucking dare say it, do you hear me? Don't you even think about it." My head dropped and my knees finally gave out. I was on the cool tile floor of my entryway then, my face buried in my hands. Sobbing, Chris fell to the floor next to me and pulled me into his arms. He didn't say it. He didn't say anything, as a matter of fact. He didn't need to. Because the words were ever-present, loud and clear, as constant a reminder as the scar that stretched down the side of my face.

_I told you so._

"Hey, Mom."

"Elizabeth, why in the hell have you not been answering your phone? We've been calling for two days..."

"Mom...."

"Your brother and sister are here, and they're worried, too." I could hear them on the other end, begging to talk. "Your father, too. I just can't believe-- I'm gonna put you on speaker." I could hear it click over.

"Mom!" I was losing it again. If I wanted to tell her, I needed to tell her then, before I lost my marbles again, although I was sure Chris had told them.

She was silent. "What's wrong?"

"Didn't Chris tell you?"

"Tell me what, baby?"

My throat closed in on me, and my voice faltered. "Um.... there's been a bit of an accident."

"Oh, my God."

"Nick's dead, Momma. He's—" I choked. "He's gone."

"Ooh, my God! Oh, God, baby, no, no!"

Eddie let out a wail. Amanda screamed; there was a commotion behind the sound of my mother's voice as she began to cry. I found out later Amanda had passed out, and my father had to catch her. When I joined my mother, I wondered, 'How long is this supposed to hurt for?'

I was rinsing the plates from dinner that night when Chris went to get in the shower. It was a long day for me. I had called Evelyn, Nick's sister in England. Second talk in one day. The third talk came when the University called, wondering why Nick hadn't shown up for a mandatory department meeting that morning. I thanked God the neighbors hadn't started showing up; I'd had enough good news for one day, and my head was beginning to feel a few sizes too big. All of this, and I hadn't even told them I was to be a mother yet. I decided to call to check up on Emery. At least, with them, I wouldn't have to explain anything anymore.

"Cathy?"

"Oh!" I could hear the smile in my friend's voice. "Oh-- Emery! Everyone, it's Liza!" Sounds of happiness met my ears as I could hear my friends greet me. "How are you, dear?"

"Um.... alright, I suppose. It-- it's good to hear your voice, is all."

"Oh, honey, it's good to hear from you, too. We're at the hospital, visiting Emery."

"How is he?"

"Better! He should be out by tomorrow."

"Oh, good. Actually, that's why I called. Um... I want you guys to all come visit tomorrow, when he's out. Is- is that okay?"

"Is that okay?! Oh, Liza, of course it's okay! Hey, listen! She wants us to come visit, and she wants us to come tomorrow so we can bring Emery!" I could hear sounds of approval at the other end. "What? O-oh, okay. Liza? Here, someone wants to talk to you."

"Alright...."

"Liza?" It was Emery. I was surprised.

"Emery. Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Better. That morphine milkshake they concocted really did the trick."

"I bet," I smiled.

"So we'll see you tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah, you bet. Come on over anytime."

The next morning, Chris and I sat over coffee and breakfast in the kitchen. It was silent for the most part, but we did talk some. When Brian called, I took it. Explained everything to him, complete with tears. I wasn't in the mood to reiterate it four more times, so I had him talk to the band. It took me awhile to come back down from that one.

When I'd recovered substantially enough, I told Chris we needed to start thinking about the funeral. "I know there's no body, but...." I sniffled, still crying a little. "There needs to be _something_, you know? A memorial, maybe...." We agreed to work out the details after my friends stopped by for a visit. We worked it through, and agreed to have a memorial service five days later.

Chris was a blessing; he promised to stay for at least another week. His presence in my house made things a little bit lighter. When I got the photos from the past two weeks developed, they were beautiful. The picture Steve took of Nick and me the day we found out we were to be parents was perfect. Chris sat with me as we looked through them and we cried together. Grief was easier when you were surrounded by sunlight and other people; it gives you something else to see for a spell, and for a short time, you can lie to yourself. But at night, as I lay in that big empty bed in the big empty room alone, I cried. I cried and I talked to the husband I knew I'd never see again, asking him what it was like up in heaven, even though I heard no response. I desperately hoped that somehow, somewhere, he heard me. I asked him if Gwen was there with him, or Pam or Vic or even Joyce.

Nick's memorial was to start at three in the afternoon on the following Sunday. I was so exhausted that I went to bed at eight the night before; the earliest I'd ever gone to bed was ten. But that night, I really needed that sleep. I was still so raw, so broken; anything would have set me off. So I curled up in bed and drifted off into forgetful solace.

There was something on my nose. That much I knew as wakefulness slowly crept in with the sunlight on Sunday morning. Something that started from the point just between my eyes and ended right at the tip made me twitch. I slowly opened my eyes. Eddie lay next to me, and he removed his hand from my face. I managed to pull up a small smile, as much of a struggle as it was. I realized then it was the first time I'd seen either of my siblings since Christmas.

"Hi, Liza."

"Hi."

We didn't say anything for a long moment.

"I was so happy." And that was it. I started shaking, and the sobs came all over again. Eddie's eyes filled with tears as he hugged me and let me cry.

The memorial was beautiful, and incredibly difficult. I couldn't keep on my feet. Evelyn an her family had flown in from England; my parents, sister, brother and band-mates were there, as well as my new friends and fellow survivors from Rose Red. Chris held me up on my feet as I cried. I told my family and friends that day about the twins, and it actually helped; I think knowing a piece of Nick had survived was what made it so special. Regardless, it was still the hardest day of my life. I went to bed that night with that bruise of a heart still throbbing, tears threatening an evacuation.


	45. Guiding Light

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 45: Guiding Light

When I opened my eyes again, I was on Catalina; the sun was setting, and I was out in the fields, with my house behind me. An adorable little girl, a five-year-old blonde clone of myself, went running through the grass, laughing, followed closely by her twin brother. Their dog went chasing after them. Her gray eyes were alight with happiness as she rolled with the St. Bernard across the field; her twin, who looked very much like her and exactly like their father, had my hair and my eyes. There were so many people; people with suitcases and keys, looking for a place to stay. But it was the one I saw coming over the hills that stopped my heart.

"Daddy!" My little girl shrieked, and Nick picked her up, laughing as he swung her through the air. I could feel the tears flow again at the sight of my husband.

"Maggie, darling!"

"Hi, Daddy!" Our son laughed.

"Hey, there. Where's your mother?"

Maggie pointed at me. "She's sad, Daddy."

"Oh?"

"She misses you," our son told him. "She's scared and she doesn't know what to do."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"Yes, but she won't listen to us."

"Ah, I see." At that point, the three of them had reached me. Nick set our daughter down. "Well, why don't you two go play with Elijah some? I'll try talking to her."

"Okay, Daddy. Bye!" The children went running out into the fields again with their dog.

I gaped at him. "N-Nick...." I started trembling.

"Hello, Liza," he grinned at me. "It's alright, sweetheart, it's okay..."

"I've missed you," I smiled through my tears. "God, I-- I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too."

"What is this place?"

"Don't you recognize it?" He looked around proudly, opening his arms. "It's ours. It's the little bed and breakfast you so desperately wanted."

"So... it's...."

"You've got to go, Liza.... besides, you promised we would."

"But you-- Nick, I don't know if I can do this without you."

My husband laughed. "Don't be absurd! You've _never_ been without me. I've always been with you, my love. You reach for me every morning and what you don't realize is that I'm always there."

"Nick..." I let out a sob. "I wanted to go with you!"

"It wasn't your time."

"And it was yours?! Did you not _see_ them, Nick? We have a little girl, and a little boy! Children that need their father and you're telling me it was just your time?!"

He was silent for a few moments, gazing out at the sunset. "Come on," he motioned for me to follow as he climbed up the porch to go sit on the bench by the front door. I went and sat next to him, and he slid an arm around my shoulders. "Liza... darling.... I didn't want this. I didn't choose it. Obviously, if given the choice, I'd have lived to one hundred by your side. But this is the hand I was dealt. And I'm having to play it." He stopped to watch our children and their dog roll around in the grass.

"What's his name?"

Our son was giggling, howling at Elijah as the furry dog licked his face.

"His name is Nick." My husband glanced at me when I told him, and he smiled as I continued. "I named him after his father."

Nick's eyes darted back out at our children as they played. "They've been inside you for a week, and already, they know me. And they know you, as well." He glanced at me. "Both of them are more alert than you realize. They both feel what you're feeling because they're connected to you, physically and emotionally."

"Are they...."

"Psychic?" People always said he had such a knack for finishing my sentences; if only they knew why. He looked at the two of them, smiling, and he nodded. "They will be."

I started crying again.

"Why does this upset you?"

"It doesn't. It's just not something a child should have to see."

"I know. But Maggie and Nick have the most amazing mother....." Nick smiled at me.

"And one hell of a father," I chuckled.

"So you see?" He smiled, squeezing my shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright. All it takes is a little faith. I love you so much, Liza."

"I love you, too, baby."

"Mommy!" Our son launched himself into my arms, curling up in our laps, and Maggie was right behind him, hugging her father. "I'm so glad we're together."

I woke up with a start and realized I'd been crying. When I sat up, I dried my eyes on my sleeve and glanced at the clock. It was only four in the morning. Throwing my feet over the side of the bed, I pulled on my robe and made my way down the hall, past our first guest room, where Amanda and Eddie were sleeping peacefully, having agreed to stay for an extra day or two. When I came to the second bedroom, I knocked quietly.

"Chris," I whispered, receiving no answer. I knocked again, a little harder the second time. "Chris!"

"Mmm! What! What-- what is it?" There was shuffling behind the door, and in a second, it swung open. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"I spoke to Nick."

"You... what?"

We sat in the kitchen together over water and I told him everything. I told him about the bed and breakfast idea and then I told him about the dream, and about what he'd said.

"I want to get out of here, Chris. This is the house I shared with Nick, and I love this house. I love it so much, but right now, it's just too painful. I want to go home. I want to go home and start a new life with my son and my daughter."

Chris was silent for a few moments, thinking things over.

"Whatever you have to say on it, I just thought you'd like to know that I've made my decision."

My God-father looked up at me and chuckled. "Liza, honey, I think it's a brilliant idea."

I cracked a smile. "You do?"

"Yeah. A-and I'll tell you what, I'll stay as long as you need me; I'll help you sell the house, pack, whatever you may need."

"Oh, Chris--"

"No, no," he stopped me, smiling. "Don't argue. Liza, you're the daughter I never had. And what's more, you're my best friend's wife, too. We're family. And families help each other."

I was up at nine the next morning. I stretched and turned to the empty spot in bed next to me; there was a pang in my heart, but I forced a smile and found it was a little easier than I'd anticipated. "Nick?" No answer. I chuckled, sighing. "I know. I love you. And I miss you, baby."

Throwing myself out of bed, I found Chris and Eddie in the kitchen. Chris was on the phone. "Hi, boys."

"Morning, sis."

Chris waved.

"Where's Mandy?"

"Shower."

"Mmm," I poured myself a cup of coffee, then leaned back against the counter. "So. Chris."

He held up his hand to tell me to wait. "What, hon?"

"What do you say to getting started?"

"I'm on the phone with the real estate agent now," he smiled.

"Liza!"

I sighed, hoisting my purse over my shoulder. Two and a half weeks later, the house was sold. It had taken us record time-- even the real estate agent was shocked, but she told us that the neighborhood was very popular. The family moving in was a couple with two girls; I was very happy that there would be love and light to fill this home again.

I'd sold Nick's car a week after the funeral, the same week we went through his will and divided everything up. Everything was cashed out; the bank, life insurance...... I even ended up getting a check in the mail for the ten thousand dollars Joyce owed Nick and me. It was postmarked from Steve and included a note that said, "Use it to start your new life." The money I came away with was beyond enough to do just that. And within days, I'd negotiated and finalized the purchase of a piece of land on Catalina.... without even seeing it. My sister went out one weekend to view the piece of property I'd bought to take pictures and make sure everything was in order; she called that night to tell me that it was beautiful. Perfect, even. Everything was squared away.

My brother's voice reached my ears a second time, calling my name.

"I'm coming!"

"Are you ready?" He asked me when I came into the empty living room.

"No," I sighed, shaking my head. "I can't believe I'm really doing this." I looked about the living room, filled with boxes and furniture. All that was left to do was move it all. I was the most blessed woman in the world: my family and my friends, including all four band-members and all five of my new friends from Rose Red, came by to help me pack. After Chris and the rest of my family went home for the time being, Eddie stayed behind. He stayed behind to help me work, to help me keep my head. And I couldn't have been more grateful. My brother and I were heading out to the moving company's main office to set up the huge truck for the move. We were looking to get the move started sometime within the next three days, and to be quite honest, as painful as it was, I was anxious to get started. I stared at the fire-place, and for an instant, the memory of my favorite Christmas flashed before my eyes. My heart choked the air from my throat as tears flooded my eyes. "Eddie....."

"C'mon, babe. It's alright." My brother guided me out the front door. "Don't think about it, okay?"

We were in the car moments later, driving to the movers' office.

"Eddie?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember when we were kids and Mom and Dad used to take all of us up and down the coast on the train?"

"Yeah, I do," my brother smiled at the memory. "God, I loved that train..."

"Me, too. I loved how cozy it was, and how you didn't have to worry about anything." I paused for a moment to gaze out the window. Eddie turned onto the main highway. "I was thinking, I want to take that same train home when we go back in a few days."

Eddie thought about it for a moment. "I don't see why not. And just have the movers drive the truck? I think it's a great idea, sis." With that, it was settled. We'd get our tickets when we got home that night.

My cell phone rang moments later.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Liza. It's Steve."

"Oh, Steve! Hi! How are you?"

"I'm well, thanks," he laughed. "But I should be asking you the same thing."

"Oh, I...." I chuckled. "I'm getting there, you know?"

"Yeah? That's good."

"Got your check in the mail today. I can't thank you enough."

"Are you kidding? A promise is a promise. Hey, listen, I've got some news for you."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"We bumped up the date. Rose Red is coming down in four days."

I was silent for a moment, letting the news soak in.

"Liza?"

"Yeah. I-- I'm still here. Steve, this-- this is great news." I smiled.

"I know. I'm looking forward to it."

"As am I."

"That's why I just had to call you first with the news. The group, we..... we were thinking about going out to the house and having our own little memorial for Pam and Nick and Vic and Joyce. You know, put out some flowers or something before the place comes down."

"I-- Yeah, I think that's a great idea. When do you want to go?"

Steve called the rest of the group and we settled for the day before the destruction. It couldn't come soon enough.

--------------

MUSIC:

The scene where Liza dreams about herself, Nick and the twins at the bed and breakfast was partially inspired by the song "Guiding Light" by Muse. It's a bittersweet song from Muse's newest album, "The Resistance," and you should definitely listen to it. The music itself is so uplifting; it's the words themselves that are so sad.


	46. Roses Mean Remember

IN THE SUN

Chapter 46: Roses Mean Remember

But come, it did. I hadn't seen the group in five days, the longest I'd gone without seeing at least one of them since everything happened. It was a Sunday, and a beautiful one, at that; there was a cool breeze that gently swept through the city, stirring up the leaves that it had brought down. The sky was cloudless.

We met for lunch first; Eddie joined us. We talked about what our lives were going to be like: Sissy had enough money to send Annie to the Gatt School in Tacoma, and she would be moving there, as well, to be closer to her sister. Steve was going with them. As for Emery and Cathy, they still hadn't decided what to do. I told them all about my bed and breakfast, and about leaving soon.

I brought the photos I'd developed from Rose Red. Everyone wanted to see them; they gathered around me to see. There was a picture taken of the entire group on the Friday we'd left for Rose Red; I remember Joyce asking a bystander if they could take it. The next was of me, Nick, Cathy and Vic waiting to go to Rose Red; me and Pam the first night at the house, linking arms and making faces; Joyce grinning for the camera as she fiddled with her equipment; Annie and Sissy playing with Annie's dolls; Pam and Vic dancing; me and Nick dancing; Emery sulking. There wasn't a dry eye at the table, and yet we were laughing, too. Pictures of the house followed, and then, there again was the picture of me and Nick at the breakfast table, the happy couple celebrating the news of children. I hadn't even touched the photos since the day I got back from getting them developed and Chris had gone through them with me. I sat there and stared at the picture, and again, my throat began to tighten. I sniffled, and next to me, Eddie let out a little whimper as he let his head down on my shoulder. I grabbed onto him, not sure who was supporting whom.

"Liza..." Emery touched my hand.

"Hmm?" I looked up at him, but his face was blurry through the tears that had started to form. I was unraveling. I could feel it in my heart, hear it in my voice; I knew my face was beginning to crumple and give me away. Some days were easier than others.

"I.... I don't know what to say. Other than, 'I'm so sorry.' And I mean it, truly." Emery put his arms around me as I finally lost it.

The six of us finished our lunch; I composed myself and we drove together, in two cars, out to the site. Again, as we pulled in, I could feel her staring at us. It was uncomfortable, and I shuddered as I stepped out of my car. Eddie, Annie and Sissy climbed out, having ridden with me, and we didn't have to wait more than five minutes before Steve, Emery and Cathy pulled in behind us in Cathy's car. When they got out, I saw Steve had a bouquet of roses with him that he passed out amongst our group.

I stood at the house, staring up at the cold monster that stared back just as fiercely. There was a sign up on the side of the house: _New Tech Star Condominium Development Coming Soon! _Annie came to stand next to me. I could hear Cathy's voice on her other side.

"Roses mean.....?"

"Roses.... mean..... r-remember," Annie smiled, satisfied.

"That's right," Cathy smiled at the girl.

I'd dreamed of Nick the first night I met him. He came to me in the solarium of Rose Red, kissed my mangled cheek and told me the same thing. It was as if it were an omen. If only I'd seen it then. If only I knew then what I knew now. If only I'd listened to Chris. If only.... if only.... I shook my head to clear the fog. _Don't look back,_ Nick had told me. Sometimes it was all I wanted to do. It took every ounce of strength I had to keep from turning around and running back to get him.

"Monday?" Sissy sighed.

"Monday, it is," Steve nodded. "The wrecking ball arrives promptly at seven."

Annie was the first to approach the house. Cathy broke away to go with her, but Emery stopped her. "No, no, it's okay-- I'll keep an eye on her."

"Oh," Cathy smiled at him. "Okay."

Crouching down, Annie put out her rose, and Emery sat next to her. He put down his rose, too, his gloved hand giving the illusion of a full set of fingers. He smiled at her. "Who's that one for, Annie?"

She said nothing, only smiled.

"I like your dress. It's very pretty."

Her smile fleshed out into a grin and she covered her face with her hands.

I got down on my knees next to them. "For you, baby," I whispered, giving the rose a quick kiss. "I love you." Setting it down with the others, I got back to my feet and looked at Steve. "Can you still reach Annie with your mind?"

"No, but I don't have to," he told me, smiling at Annie. "Yeah, we... we communicate pretty well, don't we, Annie?"

Glancing up at him over her shoulder, she grinned, rising to her feet and spinning around to hug him. The rest of the flowers were placed, and as I hugged my friends, I became fearful as to when I'd see them again.

"Oh, we'll see each other again, Liza," Sissy smiled at me reassuringly. "Steve and Annie and I may be moving to Tacoma, and you may be moving to Avalon, but it doesn't mean none of us can visit each other. And who knows...." She grinned at Steve. "Maybe we'll have to come out and stay at your new little bed and breakfast sometime." There was a general noise of agreement from the rest of the group.

"That would be _amazing,_" I smiled, sighing.

I slid into the chair with a groan, leaning my head in my arms on the tabletop. It was still so strange to see my kitchen empty. I didn't like it. Having all my things packed away in boxes didn't help, either.

"Oh, Eddie, I just don't know what I'm going to do about building this damned thing. I mean, I don't know anything about that type of stuff much less running my own bed and breakfast......"

"Are you starting to have your doubts?"

Lifting my head to rest my chin in my hand, I gazed across the table at my brother. "A-at this point, I think my life is just one giant doubt, man, you know?"

Eddie chuckled. "Well. I think I might have something that may or may not alleviate some amount of stress for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Come on." Getting to his feet, he motioned for me to follow him, and I went into the first guest bedroom down the hall, where he had all his things stashed. Opening up his backpack, he fished through and pulled out a CD case and handed it to me as he began to boot up his laptop. _To Liza, with love from Eddie_ was scrawled out across the CD's face.

"What's this?"

"Remember that dream you had, the one of Nick where you and the kids were at the bed and breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"And remember me asking all those technical questions?"

"Yeah, yeah?"

He took the disk from my hand and popped it into the CD drive. It whirred to life, opening up a new window with a few files and things inside. Eddie clicked on the first icon, opening it up for viewing.

It was a blueprint, a floor-plan, of the first floor to a large house. When I studied it further, I discovered it was the first floor to not a large house, but instead, a small hotel. Down in the corner, there was a title: 'Liza's Landing.' Below it, in slightly smaller type, it read: 'Designed by Eddie Leroux, for his sister, Liza Hardaway.' My heart began to cave as it dawned on me.

"This is.... essentially why I've been losing sleep at night."

"You... designed......" I sputtered, overwhelmed with my brother's gift. The tears kicked in again.

"Well... yeah, sis. I figured it was the least I could do."

We filed through each floor-- there were only three-- but each one of them were pretty nicely sized. There would be a total of fifty guest rooms: twenty on the second and third floors each, and the final ten on the first floor, along with my personal quarters, which were located at the back of the hotel. It included three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a small sitting area and a little kitchen.

"Eddie, I don't know what to say. This is.... just.... this is amazing. This is beautiful. This is... too much."

"Hey," he laughed. "What? Come on, what else was there? What, were _you_ going to design it?"

For the first time in a month, I laughed. I actually, honestly, truly _laughed_. And I realized something then, something it'd taken me four weeks to forget: it felt _good_. A hand flew to my mouth, as if trying to get Jack back in his box. It didn't help.

"No," I shook my head, recovering from my new discovery. "I don't think I'd be any help. I think the roof would cave in less than a day. I'd lose customers faster than you could blink." I took a second to let it all soak in. "Oh, Eddie, I... I don't know what to say. Thank you. Thank you a thousand times. This... this is the greatest thing." I hugged my brother tight.

"Anything for either of my sisters," Eddie kissed my cheek. "And speaking of sisters..."

"Uh-oh," I smiled.

"Amanda's gonna give you some business pointers. I mean-- you already know a few things about working a bed and breakfast, so I think you'll be fine, but... you know, if you have any questions, Amanda's gonna be able to steer you in the right direction."

"Oh, awesome," I sighed with relief. "Yeah, that-- that'll be a huge help."

That night, as I changed into my pajamas and began to crawl into the air mattress I'd set up the day I'd packed the sheets, I realized that the movers would be arriving on our doorstep at ten the next morning, which meant it was my last night in my house. I gazed up at the ceiling, watching the moonbeams dance, just as I'd done every night for nearly two years, and something inside began to ache. It was then I'd remembered Nick's words. _Don't be absurd! You've _never_ been without me. I've always been with you, my love. You reach for me every morning and what you don't realize is that I'm always there._

"Nick?"

Silence.

"I know you can hear me, baby."

Still, nothing. But I was convinced. I knew he could hear me. So I kept talking. And I never stopped.

------------

MUSIC:

The song "Ghosts" by Dirty Vegas inspired me a lot. Liza is so desperate to rebuild her life. "All I ever wanted wanted was a place out by the sun. To see the world go by and take each day as it comes. All I ever wanted was a chance to catch my breath. To see the world go by and lay my ghosts to rest. Give me a chance to catch my breath so I can lay my ghosts to rest." It's obviously a play on words, considering Liza is a medium, but she is so tormented by the death of her husband that all she wants is a chance to breathe and recover.


	47. First Train Home

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 47: First Train Home

When I woke up at eight the next morning, I smiled, knowing exactly what was going on at the head of Spring Street at that very moment. The bitch was coming down, and I was very pleased in knowing so.

The pain from losing Nick continued to eat at my heart and soul, and the thought of him was never very far from my mind. At the same time, it got a tiny bit easier every day. And when I say tiny, I mean minuscule amounts. The major difference was that I didn't cry at the drop of a hat anymore. I found I could talk about it a little easier, much less say his name aloud without the fear of my heart being ripped from my chest.

I flitted about the house, getting dressed and preparing the last little bits of things for the movers. Once they came, loaded and left, Eddie and I would be out the door, as well. The movers arrived promptly at ten, and the house was packed away into the van by noon. Eddie and I made the proper arrangements to have the construction of my bed and breakfast start the next day; at the rate we were figuring, the place would be done within two months, weather permitting. Chris, who had just moved to the Los Angeles area, offered up his house for me to stay for the time it would take the bed and breakfast to get built, so I found a storage unit for all of my things until the time was right.

Everything was set by the time the movers were done packing everything away. They were given the directions to the storage unit in Los Angeles, and within minutes of their departure, Eddie and I were on our way to catch our train.

When I was awake, I would daydream, and at night, when the _clack-clack-clack_ of the tracks lulled me to sleep, the daydreams continued into dreams. I dreamed of owning the most successful bed and breakfast on the island. Sometimes I'd worry it was all a show, a way to keep my mind off Nick, and that was partially true. Even if he had survived Rose Red, I was certain we'd still be on that train to Los Angeles to start our new lives. To be quite honest, I was just relieved I had something to do to keep myself from sinking. I wanted to be able to stretch my arms, I wanted to be able to run through fields with the cool, sweet wind in my face..... as much as I loved Seattle, I knew my time there was over. I was going home, and I was taking Nick with me.

The island was beautiful, as beautiful as I remembered. I stood amongst the fields of golden grass and watched it wave in the wind, listened to the sound of it flowing with the breeze. All around me was nothing but high grass, a few trees, and then, the Pacific. Looking down the large hill, I found the city of Avalon. I took in a deep breath, feeling pain inflate my lungs. Today, the pain was a dull push; two weeks previously, it had been a sharp stab. The property was perfect. I couldn't wait to get started.

"It's happening, Nick. Can you believe it? Today's the day."

I wasn't surprised when silence answered me. I finished putting on my makeup and stepped back from the mirror to look at myself one last time. I'd had to really lean over the sink, as my stomach was becoming more and more obvious, despite the fact I was only three and a half months along.

Stepping from my new little bathroom, I left my little condo at the back of my bed and breakfast to make my way to the front porch, where there were streamers, balloons, and tables filled with punch and fruit and cookies. _Welcome to Liza's Landing – Grand Opening Today!_ read the sign that sprawled out across the top of the porch. The bed and breakfast was gorgeous; it was painted a sky blue with white fringe and a gray porch all around the building. Everyone was there, laughing, talking and waiting for the show to get underway. I saw my parents, I saw Amanda, Eddie and Chris; I was amazed to even see all four of my former band-mates out and about, as well. It was incredibly difficult, having to leave the band; David said he'd taken up lead guitar duties on top of singing.

"_Roof!"_

"Oh, Elijah, be careful!" I laughed as my puppy startled me, dropping his toy-- a stuffed frog-- at my feet. I reached over and ruffled his back. The St. Bernard barked again, grabbing the toy and running back into the house. "And for the love of God, don't mark anything!" I called after him, knowing it was pointless. I sighed. "Ooh, dear." I anxiously spun Nick's ring around my finger, still hanging from the same chain.

"Don't worry, I think he should be fine. I've been in there and haven't smelled anything suspicious yet."

A familiar voice found me and I turned. "Steve!" I gasped, throwing my arms around my friend. "Oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. And Sissy! Annie!" Hugs were passed out all around; my heart sang at seeing them again.

"Annie," I looked at the girl. "Sister tells me you're liking your school."

My young friend gave me a huge smile.

"Annie," Sissy whispered, giving her a loving nudge. "Come on, you can do it."

"Yes, L-Liza.... school is... w-wonderful."

"Oh!" I grinned, clapping my hands together. I wanted to cry, I was so pleased. "I'm so glad to hear it, honey."

The day went on beautifully; the bed and breakfast was gorgeous. Everyone was talking about how harrowing it was getting it up and running; most of my family was there, including cousins and aunts and uncles, and they knew how difficult it had been for me. I couldn't even begin to describe how grateful I was to have such an amazing support system.

As the party drew to a close, a handful of people, mostly family, stayed behind to help me clean up. I was about to go inside to check on the dog again when I saw Emery and Cathy coming up the path, suitcases in hand.

"Hey!" I shouted, waving. "Oh, my gosh!" My friends dropped their things on the porch to give me a hug.

"Well, look at you, Mama!" Cathy grinned, putting her hands on my stomach. "You're even bigger than last time," she laughed, giving me a second hug.

"Well, it looks as if you two have taken me up on my offer," I smiled, pointing to their suitcases. "You remember what I said-- free of charge!"

Emery smiled. "Well, actually, um.... yes, that's part of it, but....."

"But...?"

"Cathy heard it through the grapevine that you were slightly short on workers. You know, people to help run the joint."

I glanced at Cathy. She gave me a knowing smile and a wink, raising her finger to make swirls in the air.

"Oh!" I laughed. "That's brilliant! So-- wait," I shook my head. "Are you telling me you two will be... will be moving here to Avalon?"

"Well... yeah, that's our plan."

I stared at my friends for a few moments. "You guys...."

"Do you remember what Steve told you, that day we left.....?" Cathy asked, unable to finish.

"Yeah, yeah, we left...." Neither of us could bring ourselves to say it. I sighed. "He told me you guys would always be here for me. We'd be there for each other, and we'd stick together."

Emery grinned. "There's no statute of limitations on that statement."

------------------

MUSIC:

THere were two songs inspired by her trip home: Imogen Heap's "First Train Home" and Pat Monahan's "Great Escape." When Eddie finally takes Liza home to Southern California, she aches because she's leaving the one city that she shared with Nick when he was still alive, but at the same time, there's a relief that floods her at starting fresh, getting away from the pain.

Great Escape: "I float through this town like a cosmonaut, reminding me of all the things I haven't got: like time and space, a smile on my face, and you. And I need you; everybody needs someone like you. If you need me, too, you would be the only thing that I'd take on my great escape."

First Train Home: "I want to play-doh wave forms in the hideaway, I want to get on with getting on with things. I want to run in fields, paint the kitchen, love someone-- I can't do any of that here, can I?"


	48. Redemption Fields of Gold

IN THE SUN  
Chapter 48: Redemption (Fields of Gold)

It never occurred to me how difficult running my own business would be; the construction cost alone nearly drained me, financially and emotionally. It was incredibly slow at first, but soon, things started to grow. I made an eight-by-ten copy of the photograph Steve took of Nick and me and hung it in the lobby of the bed and breakfast, and beneath it, a sign read, _For Nick._ Before I knew it, two more months had gone by, and business continued to build. I talked to Nick every day, and I talked to the twins, as well. If Nick was right, which he usually was regarding such things, they really could hear me. Nick came to me through my dreams often, and every time, I would wake up a little lighter.

About a month into business, Cathy came up with an idea that ended up working beautifully-- and also helped raise money for the bed and breakfast. After much advertisement, we, every Sunday, would get together and cook an amazing breakfast for the folks staying with us. And it wasn't just any type of thing: we became very theatrical with it. We would open up the kitchen and play music and dance around the little hotel as we cooked the food and brought it out to our guests, who enjoyed the whole thing immensely. It felt so good to laugh again. I had my bad days and my good days, but for the most part, they were slowly getting better. Nick's birthday, the fourth of January, was especially difficult.

I woke up on the morning of my twenty-seventh birthday at six, same as always. Birthday or no birthday, there was work to be done. Emery and Cathy, as well as the other regular workers, were scheduled to come in any minute. Stepping into the back, I let Elijah out to do his morning business. It was a remarkably cool February morning for Southern California, and I pulled my robe in around me, shivering. When I let Elijah in, I gave him his breakfast. He was getting so big, and was nearly a year old, although, gauging by his size, you probably would have guessed older. He was a monster of a teddy bear, the sweetest and most loyal dog you could ever hope for. It was when I was flicking on the kitchen lights, getting the place ready for the day, that the pang hit my gut, just above my hips. Seconds later, it happened again, only stronger. I let out a cry, clutching my side, and when the third one hit, I was down. I'd been blindsided by it, and I found myself unable to get up, I was in so much pain. A few minutes later, I heard the front door open, and the sound of Cathy's laughter reached my ears as Emery was talking to her.

"Cathy!" I screamed, and I could practically hear her jump.

"Liza?!"

I was in a hospital bed in what seemed like mere moments; Emery stayed at the hotel to take in patrons and keep watch over the ones we already had. Cathy stayed with me, and I couldn't believe how quickly it all happened. But by one that afternoon, I sat holding my son and my daughter in my arms. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Nick and Maggie were a year old when I finally went back to Seattle. I flew in to visit Steve, Sissy and Annie, as well as the boys from the band and play with them for awhile. It was so strange to go back after so long; Annie, Steve, Sissy and I drove by the site where Rose Red had stood. The condos were almost finished, but when we got there, we ended up leaving shortly thereafter. The twins got very upset almost as soon as we'd arrived, which I knew wasn't a coincidence.

The twins and I celebrated our birthdays-- they were four and I was thirty-one-- by going out camping with Chris, who took the ferry over from Los Angeles to help us celebrate. Nick woke me up at about four one morning, asking about the voices that were outside the tent. Maggie woke up, too, and together, we sat up and listened to the Russian hunters as they set up their own camp. When Maggie bolted out to say hi, she, like myself so many years before, found herself to be alone.

"Maggie! Maggie, honey, focus. Can you leave those up front, please?"

"Okay, Mommy, okay!"

"And where's your brother?"

"Somewhere out in the fields, with Elijah."

"Alright," I sighed. "Well-- go get them, will you?"

"Calm down, Mommy!" Maggie laughed, and next to me, Cathy did just the same.

"Are you sure you're going to be?"

"What?" I glanced at her, smiling. "Alright? Yes, yes, I'm fine, I promise." I laughed. "It's just.... it will be really nice seeing them again, you know? I'm excited. And jeez, you'd think it took him long enough to pop the question, am I right? I mean, _five years_....."

"I'm excited, too."

"Hey! We've got the stuff!" Emery breezed in with a grin on his face, carrying a huge wedding cake in his arms, and he was followed closely by another one of our employees, a girl of about twenty, who carried in all the disposable utensils. They immediately took it into the dining hall and started to set the things up on the tables that were already decorated.

"Are you excited about going back to school?" Cathy smiled at me, turning back to our chat.

"Oh, my gosh," I sighed, laughing. "I don't even know. Yeah, I am, but I'm nervous. It's been awhile since I've gone to school."

"I think you'll do so well, honey. You've been wanting to study parapsychology for so long..."

"I have," I nodded. "I just wanted to make sure the kids were squared away first in kindergarten. Now I feel like, once I do it, I can better help them understand their abilities."

"Well, at least they won't feel alone, with all of us around!" Cathy laughed.

It was a beautiful summer day, the perfect day for a wedding. At five years old, both of my twins had a part in Steve and Sissy's wedding: Maggie would be the flower girl and Nick would be the ring bearer. Annie was Steve's maid of honor, and Cathy and I were bridesmaids. Emery was Steve's best man. I was so glad they'd decided to get married at the bed and breakfast.

"Mommy!" Nick came bursting through the front doors, jumping up and down. "They're here, they're here! Come quick!"

The wedding was well underway come four that afternoon. There was still a dull ache in my heart, remembering the same vows that Nick and I had shared years earlier, and yet I was so happy to see that it was now Steve and Sissy's turn. The wedding wrapped, and the party was taken inside for food and general merriment. Some people stayed outside, as well, enjoying the gorgeous breezes coming up off the Pacific.

Music, dancing, drinking and fun continued for the rest of the evening, but it was just after the cutting of the cake that Cathy came to me with a smile on her face. "Liza," she found me in the kitchen as I started another load of dishes. "You need to come see this sunset."

I stepped outside to find my children running through the high grass with Elijah, howling in delight. Annie was chasing after little Nick, and he reveled in not being caught. The sky was indeed beautiful; the orange, yellow and red bled out into a deep indigo. Steve and Sissy were out within minutes to enjoy the sight, and Annie went to stand with her sister.

"It's him, isn't it?" Maggie was next to me, gazing at the sun as it disappeared behind the clouds. She found a seat next to me in the grass, which had turned golden in the light from the sunset.

"That's right, love," I nodded, hugging my daughter as she put her head down in my lap. My son came to me moments later, and we sat together in the fields. Elijah came up and collapsed next to us, exhausted.

We sat for a long while, watching the colors bleed out above us as the sun went down.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby."

"I'm so glad we're together."

And as my throat closed in on me, I held tight to my son and my daughter, thanking the stars for everything that I'd ever been blessed with.

"Many years have passed since those summer days  
among the fields of barley  
See the children run as the sun goes down  
among the fields of gold  
You'll remember me when the west wind moves  
upon the fields of barley  
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky  
when we walked in fields of gold."  
_-- "Fields of Gold," by Sting_

THE END.

----------

MUSIC:

-- "Exogenesis: Symphony pt. 3 (Redemption)" -- Muse  
A beautiful piece that ends the story perfectly; the way the song sounds, along with the simple yet beautiful lyrics, are perfect! "Let's start over again, why can't we start it over again? Just let us start it over again… and we'll begin, this time we'll get it, get it right. It's our last chance to forgive ourselves."

-- "Fields of Gold" -- Sting  
I took the end quote directly from this song. To me it perfectly represents the sadness in the loss of Nick, and how, even though he may be gone, he will always be with his family, and how they will always remember him. Plus, the whole fields thing plays a big part, too, considering where their bed and breakfast is.

And that's it, folks! If you've made it this far, I thank you sooooo much for sticking with it. I have a question for you: did you like it? :) I so appreciate you sticking around 'till the end with me……. Always remember to live, laugh and love!! :D

Love,  
Firefly-ErinMW


End file.
